Is it worth it?
by BlueBastard
Summary: Master Chief is stranded. A run in with Elites and more flood, while being unarmed, leads to more interesting results. WARNING: Slight noncon. Developes. There's SLASH,YAOI. I'm telling ya... read at your own risk.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: No, I do not own any of Bungie's or Halo's original characters. Master Chief is just too kool.

Author's note: I kinda revised a bit.

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Groaning, the green-armored Chief shook his head to clear it.

"Ugh, where am I?" His gravelly voice sounded unusually sluggish.

Shaking his head again, Master Chief called out softly, "Cortana? Cort-"

But then it all came rushing back to him. The flood. The need to get back to Earth. _Leaving _Cortana behind. His arm was shaking before he realized just how hard he was clenching his fist. With a sound of rage, he slammed the said fist down on the hard metallic floor.

'_Damn it_' The thought rang in his head, helping little to lessen his rage, though it did help him feel slightly better.

He hadn't made it. The ship's doors had closed too fast. So instead of going inside like he had intended, Master Chief had been launched straight out into the air. Falling gods know how far. He had absolutely no clue how he had survived at all.

'_Maybe I survived, but Earth…_'

_Clatter!_

Master Chief instantly jumped up at the sound, crouching even as his hand reached over to pull out his assault rifle. A major shock went through him as his fingers merely grasped at air. Looking down, he patted around his belt and the compartments of his armor.

Empty. They were gone. All his weapons. The realization hit him all at once, acting almost as a physical blow. He was unarmed. _'Shit'_

Stunned, he stood out there in the open when he should have been sprinting to a place he could hide. The crumbled innards of the structure had enough fallen stones and shadows to hide him. But it took a second longer than it should have to register. He was out in the open. Vulnerable. It was only when it was too late, when he heard a voice shout, that he started to run.

"_Demon!_"

Master Chief cursed aloud, his feet taking him as fast as he could away from there. There was no mistaking the warbled, throaty shout. What he had heard was none other than an Elite. And where there was one…

----

His hasty departure left a stunned Elite, who had been readying himself for an attack. But seeing the armored figure turn and run away was too much of a shock. Frowning a bit in confusion, he reported via radio in his helmet back to his commander. They had spotted a figure falling as the massive covenant ship had withdrawn from High Charity. Having a sudden attack of compassion, the golden-armored Elite had ordered the pilot to bring their smaller Phantom down, believing the falling person to be one of their own. Man, was he in for a surprise.

Drajha-Lee had been sitting haggardly in his seat, his vacant expression unable, or rather unwilling, to focus on anything. He was pondering for the millionth time why he had been assigned clean-up duty. He was a high-class Elite, after all. '_I simply cannot believe Ranjon-Riramee would stoop so low as to have me established within this line of work. At least he did not place a mere handful of minor Elites under my command_.'

His reign of boredom was broken by a simple transmission from one of the red Elites on the ground. After the words registered in the golden-armored Elite's mind, he jolted upright in his seat, clutching the armrests with a death-like grip.

--The Demon is _here_?-- The golden one questioned through the communicator, disbelief in his voice.

--Yes, leader. Yet, something troubles me. He did not engage in combat. Instead, the Demon turned and ran like a cowardly grunt-- The red-armored one replied, staring hard down the darkened tunnel the Master Chief had flown down.

--….--

--Should I give chase, Drajha-Lee?-- The red one questioned, --If I do not soon, his trail will become cold.--

--Yes, Ghlariknee. I shall send four more Elites to assist you. His reaction is curious. Perhaps… he is wounded.-- Drajha-Lee commented, adding in a more serious tone, --And Ghlariknee?--

--Yes, Leader?--

--If possible, capture the Demon. Alive.--

Ghlariknee hesitated, wanting to object but still not used to disobeying Drajha-Lee's orders. Even though he knew the strict confines of the Covenant didn't restrict them anymore from doing so.

Recognizing the pause for what it was, Drahja-Lee inquired, --Is there something troubling you, Ghlariknee?--

--Well…-- The scarlet Elite hesitated once more before spilling, --I do not understand why we should not simply eliminate him.--

--Contemplate, Ghlariknee. No more humans infest this High Charity. All their human crafts have either left or been destroyed. Even the _Covenant_-- -he spat the word like something bitter in his mouth- --as well as our own Rebel forces are withdrawing. Why would the Demon still be here?--

The red Elite frowned, suddenly understanding his leader's reasoning, --Very curious, indeed.--

----

'_Damn_', he cursed angrily within his head. He hated running from a battle. But he had no knowledge of the terrain or the enemies he faced. He also had no weapons. Granted, his fists weren't exactly an asset to be overlooked, but he still liked to know what he was dealing with before throwing himself into the heat of battle. That and the fact that he found it difficult to simply place one foot in front of the other caused him a little concern.

"That fall must've taken more out of me than I realized." He reasoned to himself as he suddenly had to lean against a wall just to stay standing. He was also very displeased to find what could only be a huge bruise along his ribs. He could only hope nothing was broken.

He swung his head to the corridor behind him as he heard the steady beat of running feet. Cursing again, Master Chief pushed himself off the wall and forced his legs into a run once again. They had caught up faster than the Spartan had expected. Yet another problem caused by his impossible survival of the fall. '_Not that I'm complaining…_' Master Chief commented to himself as he grunted in pain once again.

'_Why are the Covenant, I mean, the Elites chasing me?_' The Spartan growled questioningly to himself. Instantly banishing the thought from his mind, the Master Chief focused on what lay ahead. Just as he was trained to do through all the years of training and fighting.

Then things went from bad to worse. A warped gargle that did not dignify the depiction of an actual 'voice' came from ahead. Skidding to a stop, Master Chief forced his screaming muscles to freeze as a small huddle of flood combat forms limped into view.

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Yeah, I know, I know. Horrible place to stop. -_shrugs and smiles_- If I get anything wrong, I wouldn't mind any advice people are able to give me.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Nope, I still don't own any of Bungie's or Halo's original characters. And yes, Master Chief still kicks ass!

Author's Note: revised 9/25/05

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'_Wonderful_,' Master Chief grimaced, '_Flood in front of me and Elites behind_._ Where's a rocket launcher when you need one? Hell, I'd even settle for a couple grenades._'

The flood combat forms started rushing forward, a sure sign they had noticed his presence. Gritting his teeth, the Spartan instantly tightened the armor around his problem areas with his mind-link to the suit, prepping himself for battle. He may be unarmed. But he was _not _defenseless.

Bringing himself into a defensive stance, Master Chief grinned and said with steely determination, "Bring it on."

----

The Elites were closing in, Ghlariknee in the lead, the four other red Elites trailing behind. They had been surprised, at first, when Drajha-Lee had informed them that the Demon was still on High Charity. But then they had unhesitatingly volunteered to go, if only to see the notorious Demon. All except the grunts who decided to stay and mind the Phantom, using the lame excuse that they were not feeling too well.

Long before the major Sanghelli had caught up, they heard the distinct sounds of battle ahead. Eager for a chance to polish their skills, the five Elites surged ahead.

----

Hearing the shots of stolen carbines, pistols, and assault rifles, the Spartan rolled quickly for refuge behind a pile of rubble. Crouching low, he readied himself for whoever would come after him first. Predictably, one of the combat forms leaped high over the rubble, landing with his back to the Chief. It didn't seem to notice as it suddenly found half its arm missing. As it turned, the missing hand could be seen dangling off of Master Chief's newly acquired shotgun.

'_Lucky me_.' Master Chief grinned, even as the flood combat form fell dead before him.

More flood poured in, forcing the Spartan to dodge, roll, and shoot as he barely managed to manuever in the suddenly crowded corridor. A few shots and even fewer limbs slammed against Master Chief's shields, bringing them down a quarter of the way. With a delicately placed shot and a tug, the UNSC soldier managed to acquire an assault rifle as well. Doubly armed, he made good use of the weapons, spraying every once in a while with the rifle as he took more precise shots with the bigger gun in his right hand.

Master Chief was torn between not getting cornered and not having his back open to attack. So he was stuck in an endless cycle of backing up to a wall before barely dodging and sprinting away in an attempt to not get overwhelmed. The Spartan was starting to get ticked. And he was getting ticked because he was getting worried. How long could he keep this up?

'_For as long as it takes_.'

He felt his shields drain under a new barrage of attacks. His movements were starting to slow as the adrenaline failed to keep his energy up. His fists tightened around the weapons and he leapt into battle with a new burst of vigor. '_I've fought under worst conditions. Against tougher odds. So what if I have no backup. I've fought alone countless times before_.'

But a small voice inside his head pointed out that he was stranded. His communicator was either malfunctioning or damaged by the fall. Where would he go in the flood-ridden High Charity? Abandoned just moments ago by the Human, Covenant, and Covenant Renegade Forces. Angrily, Master Chief shook his head. Thoughts like that wouldn't help him right now. And is if to prove that point, he was shot and slashed at again during his momentary lapse of attention.

----

Upon the sight of the Demon facing hordes of flood, the Elites paused. He was clearly outnumbered. The odds more than a hundred times in the floods' favor. Yet the Demon kept fighting. Dodging, slamming, shooting, and sprinting through the tide of infested lifeforms that always threatened to overwhelm the armored figure.

'_He is a foe worthy of respect_' Ghlariknee thought approvingly.

Rousing a battle cry from his comrades, the scarlet-clad Elite rushed head on into the fray.

----

The uplifting chorus of roars registered instantly in Master Chief's mind. He grimaced. The Sanghelli were here. But he didn't have time to worry about them just yet. Unless, of course, they decided to kill him as well. Taking one step too far back, the Spartan suddenly found himself sprawled on the ground, having had the unfortunate luck of tripping over a pile of dead flood bodies.

'_Damn!_'

He focused on taking down any and all combat forms that surged up around him, not daring to allow them to get too close. The assault rifle in his left hand clicked empty. Without a second thought, he chucked it at the flood, his now empty hand instantly groping around for another weapon on the floor. All the while his right hand busied itself shooting the center of as many fucking flood forms he aimed at. Clutching the familiar form of a handheld pistol, he instantly brought it up next to the shotgun, firing away with precision and speed. In the back of his mind, he knew the shotgun couldn't possibly last much longer as he managed to reload it one handed, his newly acquired pistol drilling as many flood bodies as it could in the meantime. Out of the corner of his eye, Master Chief spotted the handful of Elites join the battle. Not sure yet whether this was a good thing, he instead focused on the relentless combat forms around him.

Ghlariknee bombarded the horde with his double plasma rifles, kicking and leaping as some combat forms surged too close for comfort. To either side, he found his comrades caught up in battle same as he. One, having lost his carbine, had drawn out his energy sword with a roar of defiance. Gauging his time correctly, the scarlet Elite drew back his arm and threw the primed plasma grenade into the largest cluster of flood bodies. He had a nagging feeling that might have been near where the Demon fell, but there was nothing he could do to stop the grenade now.

His weapons discarded, Master Chief was busy wrestling with an over eager combat form. While struggling to get the infected figure off of him, he also used its body to shield himself from the blows and shots of the flood surrounding him. Suddenly, a rush of blinding light and sound overtook over him. The explosion taking away more than two-thirds of the bodies surrounding him.

'_Plasma grenade' _the thought registered weakly in his mind.

He had been unprepared, unable to adjust and dim his visor before the light from the grenade blinded him. Spots danced in his vision, temporarily blinding him. But one unusually large spot caught his attention.

'_What the-_' Master Chief lunged forward as he suddenly realized that the 'spot' had in fact been the front of a rocket launcher. Slamming his fist with a newfound strength, the struggling combat form ceased its movements after a few well-placed blows.

"Humph, don't mind me..." Master Chief commented lightly as he pried the rocket launcher from its previous user's cold grasp.

Maybe the Flood always had reserves pouring in from supposedly nowhere, but in the end Master Chief usually found that the torrent would stop. Whether because they were all killed or...

'_Or because I have a freaking huge launcher on my shoulder_.' He thought to himself with a grim grin.

Aiming as well as he could in the precious little time gap he had, Master Chief chose a particularly weak looking spot on the ceiling and fired all loaded rockets in that same direction. Chucking the rocket launcher, the Spartan spun and sprinted away as fast as he could, disregarding any and all attacks in his direction. After all, he just didn't feel like an early grave today.

The Elites' found their green armored quarry hauling ass away from the battle, back the way he had come. Shrugging off the Flood attacks, they exchanged glances and took off as well. If the Demon was running that fast, then there had to be an extremely good reason why. A few heartbeats later, they found their conclusions satisfyingly correct as the corridor behind them collapsed with several ground-shaking explosions. Half the corridor as well as all of the Flood collapsed under the immense weight of the shattered and broken walls.

'_Well, that takes care of that problem_...' Master Chief thought wearily to himself.

But all the sudden the pain surged back. Gasping, the Spartan slowed, his arm clutching his side against the hot spike of pain just throbbing for attention. Hearing the footsteps past all the pain, Master Chief whirled to face his new foes, almost keeling over in the process from the sudden rush of dizziness. He cursed angrily at his weakness and for not thinking to grab a weapon on his way out. The Elites wouldn't be as easy to allow him to 'liberate' their weapons.

The scarlet Sanghelli exchanged looks again, stalking closer to the Demon. Approving their caution, Ghlariknee signaled them to surround the supposedly wounded Demon. He could be faking, after all.

"Give yourself up, Demon, and we shall not kill you."

Master Chief scoffed, ending up in a hunched formed as it turned into a fit of coughing. After recovering quickly, the Spartan remained hunched, his form defensive as he commented glaringly, "I do not _give up_."

"I will gladly take care of him, Ghlariknee." One of the Elites spoke up, gripping his carbine eagerly.

Growling, the red Elite shook his head, "Drahja-Lee wants him captured, if possible."

Master Chief tensed, his gaze flickering between the five surrounding him, "Then I'll just have to make that _im_possible, won't I?"

"You can try, _Demon_."

One of the Elites made his move. The one directly behind the Chief. Sensing it more than seeing the attack coming, Master Chief sidestepped it quickly, allowing the Elite to rush past him before counterattacking with a move of his own. That over zealous Elite soon found himself knocked unconscious on the ground and disarmed.

"_Fool_." Ghlariknee hissed at the one who had acted before his orders, though the insult fell on deaf ears.

Training the carbine on the one who seemed to be the leader, Master Chief said gruffly, "I suggest you all _leave_."

Finding the tables turned a little out of his favor, Ghlariknee froze. But he wasn't leading the small group of major Sanghelli merely for his strength in battle.Crossing his arms in front of his chest and forcing his stance to relax, the red Elite asked, "And where shall you go?"

Wary at the sudden question, Master Chief snapped, "Why should you care?" Though most of his attention lay on that Elite, he remained very aware of the three others around him.

"I am merely reasoning with you, Demon." Ghlariknee's mandibles formed into something that appeared to be a frown, "All your human soldiers have left. They obviously have not come back for you. What shall you do?"

"I am fully capable of making that decision on my own." The Spartan drawled, almost sounding bored except for that tint of anger in his voice.

"There are no other functional spacecraft." Ghlariknee warned, his voice firm with his utter conviction, "We made sure they were all destroyed. We could not allow any flood to leave this planet since the Covenant obviously have not 'glassed' their precious High Charity, as you humans so aptly call it."

"..." Master Chief's grip tightened slightly on his stolen weapon, his breath shaky as he tried remaining standing and ready for attack. As much as he hated to admit it, the Sanghelli did have a point. The Spartan stumbled as a wave of blackness attempted to consume him. Shaking himself and standing once more, Master Chief attempted to make it seem like he wasn't phased by either the Elite's arguments or his own fatigue.

"Your wounds need attention, Demon. It would be wise to accompany us without resistance."

His pain surged forward, as if aware it was being talked about. Gritting his teeth, the arm the Master Chief carried the Carbine with drooped slightly as he placed the other hand on his forehead, shaking his head as if the very movement would rid him of the persistant ache. The Elite grinned, assured of his upcoming victory. The others shuffled, disliking the place and wary of attacks, either from the Demon himself or from flood lurking around.

"I..." Master Chief gasped, "I... _refuse_."

"Suit yourself De-"

But before Ghlariknee could finish his statement, the Demon had moved faster than he could track with his eyes. But it wasn't to attack as the Sanghelli had expected, but rather to quickly take his helmet off. Hunched over, his helmet tossed carelessly to the side, the Master Chief vomitted. Relaxing from the tense expectation of battle, the Elites observed the sick Demon warily. His rugged brown hair was flattened, as was usual after wearing his Spartan helmet. His pale skin seemed a contrast to the deep sage green of his armor. But what caught their attention most was his burning blue eyes. They reinforced a fact the Sanghelli had come to learn. That the Demon was not someone to be taken lightly.

"It seems the fall has taken more out of you than you had anticipated, Demon."

"You try surviving a fatal drop." Master Chief growled defensively, "Then let's see if you'll even be alive to throw anything up."

Ignoring the statement, Ghlariknee stooped to retrieve the Demon's discarded helmet. Master Chief froze. How could he have been so careless? Clenching his fists in anger, he took a deep breath to calm himself down. Anger would get him nowhere right now, "I have an idea. How about we exchange my helmet for your Sanghelli's carbine, and we'll go our separate ways."

"I have an even better idea. We all leave, _now_." The Elite replied, impatience creeping into his voice.

--------------------

blah blah blah. If you're reading this for the romance, it won't be coming for a while. And it won't be that luvey dovey crap. Also, as a word of caution, the pairing will probably be yaoi. So if you're against that stuff, don't worry cuz I'll warn you in the author's note at the beginning of the chapters.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Bungie's and Halo's original characters belong to them. I just tweaked around a lil'.

Author's note: Haha, the reviews rock guys. Thanx. No yaoi in dis chapter.

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'_SHIT_...' Master Chief could have slammed his head against a wall if it wouldn't have added to his growing list of wounds and aches.

Thanks to his ever-growing 'luck' since his survival from the fatal fall, the Spartan just kept finding things that made him moodier than ever before. First of all, he lost his weapons. Second, he ran into the flood. Third, he kicked their asses, which was a good thing. But he was made more aware of the tormenting wounds recieved from the fall, which was bad. Fourth, he had nowhere to go. He was stranded on the recently abandoned flood-ridden High Charity. His communicator broken. And the Sanghelli were just rubbing it in. And fifth, his last mistake was the helmet Ghlariknee now held prizingly within his grasp.

Without the helmet, the suit wasn't complete. And if the suit wasn't whole, neither was the shielding. So, to be blunt, Master Chief would die and die quickly without it in a battle against the flood.

"What is your decision, Demon?" Ghlariknee demanded, flexing his free fist impatiently.

The red Elite knew the rest of his team were restless as well. Here was the notorious Demon within their grasp and they weren't allowed to kill him. At least, not without the Demon making the first hostile move. True, one of their own lay knocked out on the ground, but the over-eager Elite had brought it upon himself. None of his comrades were eager to follow such a fate.

"I'd like to go our seperate ways." Master Chief said very slowly, finding it difficult to speak at the moment without gnashing his teeth in a very vicious way.

"Not an option. Especially if you wish to retrieve this particular part of your armor."

With an exasperrated sigh, Master Chief gave the Elite a bored look, "It was careless of me to throw my helmet. If you simply hand it back, I _promise _not to maim or kill any of you and I'll simply continue minding my own business."

A chorus of laughter followed that statement. Though it was a half-hearted gesture. Many of the remaining Sanghelli shifted nervously, fearing the worst. The same Demon before them had, after all, slaughtered an overwhelming amount of flood in the briefest of moments. Not to mention he had survived the long drop before he had fought on, sustaining numerous wounds.

Ghlariknee, however, was not fooled, "Your brave facade is quite deceptive, Demon. But you are cornered and weakened."

"Hah, not weak enough to take care of a handful of you." The tone of his voice has lowered dangerously, his stance dropping back down into his defensive pose. He only hoped his bluff would work. '_That Ghla-whatever character seems pretty damn perceptive. The others would have fled by now_.'

Unfortunately for the Spartan, he was right about the red Elite, "You may be able to take us down, but how long shall you last against a station filled with the flood. When _you _are the last on the menu. A few weeks? Days? Hours?"

Master Chief looked away at that. '_Shit, that damn Elite is right about that one_.'

It was a good thing the soldier had turned his head away at that moment, for he caught a sudden movement at the edge of his vision. He cursed, wondering if it was one of the Elite. But no. None of the four left had moved. And something about what he had seen sparked an image inside his brain. Something familiar. Familiar and very dangerous...

Suddenly, he realized what it was: a cloaking device.

"Motherfucker." Master Chief cursed as he forced his screaming muscles to launch him into the air. A few of the Elites fumbled with their weapons, believing he had chosen to go on the offensive. But they realized their mistake quickly, as the Spartan jumped straight up, spinning in a kick.

At first, all they heard was a thud as the Demon's leg connected with 'empty' space. But then a heartbeat later something slammed into the wall behind them. The Sanghelli turned, gaping as the cloaking device flickered then failed. Revealing before them their golden-armored leader, Dhraja-Lee. At first, he too had a look on his face as confused as they. Though it had been more caused by the breath being knocked out of him than the surprise they all felt. Then a look of anger crossed his face.

"After him!"

They all turned to find the same thing Dhraja-Lee had noticed. A very confused looking Ghlariknee, a hand to his forehead in pain. And the missing Demon.

Master Chief could've crowed at the distraction the sudden appearance of a 'hidden' Sanghelli had caused. Scratch that. He couldn't have crowed. He could barely breath at the moment as it was.

Through the haze of pain, the Spartan forced himself to think, '_I need... an objective_.' As the sound of running feet behind reached him, Master Chief found suddenly he had a very good idea what it would be. To not get caught.

With another wheeze of air, because you could hardly call it breath what with the small amount of oxygen it fed his straining muscles, Master Chief slammed then twisted his helmet back on. '_Damn Elites_.' The Spartan thought angrily to himself, '_Why don't they harrass some other armored soldier? Better yet, why don't they find a whole massive army of flood lying in wait... and... wait-what the hell!_'

Master Chief had found the way out of the ruined mass of buildings. He was now in a spot that could be termed 'ground zero'. Some bomb had obviously decimated the whole place for miles. Nothing but sorry excuses for rocks could be seen in the barren wasteland before him. Well, almost nothing.

If you counted the fact that more than a million flood combat forms milled mindlessly, then, well, yeah.

"Oh, gods..." The Spartan exhaled, taking in the devastating sight before him.

That's when the first few noticed him. Then, in due credit to the name given to them, they rushed towards him all at once.

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Seriously warning you guys. Yaoi crossing ahead. Unless, of course, enough of you are able to convince me against such a horror. But even then... -shrugs- Ew, but don't think its with the _flood_. -shudder-** Edited: you will be warned when yaoi will show up. Do not panic.**

**PyroStyrke: **"I repeat: do not pani-" -_sees possible readers flee, and drops hands and sighs_- "Aw shit."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Bungie and Halo's original character kick ass. But I don't own 'em.

Author's note: -_Exasperated sigh_- "All right, okay." -_Can be seen with a small amused grin and an eyebrow raised_**-** "No yaoi slashy whatever nonsense in this chapter either. So yeah, you guys can relax now. But if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to bring it."

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"This is not my day." Master Chief muttered darkly. Talk about an understatement.

Releasing the death grip he had slung over his bruised, possibly broken ribs, Master Chief wracked his brain for a plan. Any plan. Elites hot on his tail. An impossible amount of Flood at his doorstep. Holding back the urge to hurl, the Spartan whirled and sprinted to the nearest cluster of 'rocks'. It was the closest thing to a defensive wall that he could find.

Before he reached it, however, a few of the flood came up for an early hello. Which was gladly responded with Master Chief's fists and kicks. Despite their inhuman strength, the Spartan was more than able to dish out a few moves of his own. He had, after all, been designed with durability, strength, and speed in mind. Finding a few of the combat forms a bit too close, Master Chief slammed his fists forward before delivering his elbows with an equally devastating force to the flood behind. Ducking the leaping attack of one, the Spartan pivoted and rammed an upercut on the nearest unsuspecting combat form.

"How the hell do you guys eat, anyway?" The Spartan chatted idly during a pause in the fight, crouching to retrieve a few 'misplaced' weapons. The combat forms waved their arms around wildly, either confused or merely continuing with their brainless movements. One of the flood rushed forward, possibly to answer said question. Unfortunately for it, the Spartan blew a large hole in its chest with his newly acquired shotgun, stating with obvious distaste, "Actually, nevermind. I don't think I wanna know."

----

"Does the Demon's supply of energy never cease?" Ghlariknee asked, a degree of awe in his voice.

"He is like a machine. Fit only for fighting." Drajha-Lee commented, with a side-long look at the Elites under his command, "He has survived this war thus far, after all."

"Leader, why is it that we cannot kill the Demon?" One of the Elites questioned, "He has committed many crimes-"

Drajha-Lee cut him off, "against the _Covenant_." He paused a moment to let the statement sink in before continuing, "We no longer uphold their beliefs or laws. He is their enemy now. As unexpected as it seems, that Demon is now our ally."

"Little though he seems to agree." Ghlariknee scoffed, turning back to battle ahead. He was ready to fight. As soon as his leader gave the word, the red Elite would fight for his life's worth. Whatever qualms he had with the Master Chief he could put aside for their cause. To fight against the nation that had broken them, led them, and filled them with lies. Betrayed them.

"Think, Ghlariknee." The golden-clad Elite reasoned, "He has been stranded. All alone. He is wounded, more so than he has shown or even knows himself. What else has he to rely on than his instinct to defend himself and survive. His suspicions of us will not be so easily disregarded."

"I wish you had told me this sooner, Drajha-Lee. I might have tried harder to convince him." Ghlariknee commented with a sigh.

"Yet it is not your fault, Ghlariknee. If any is the blame, the fault would lie with me. I desired a chance to face off against such a fighter. To test him, before I would ask of him his assistance. But none of that matters now. Not if he is vanquished by the flood which faces him now." Tapping quickly into his communicator, the golden-clad Sanghelli surveyed the battlefield before calling for reinforcements. His mandables formed into a wry grin, Drajha-Lee turned back to the major Sanghelli under his command, "Now go, my warriors! Cast aside your grief and anger and defeat the parasites which wish to consume our potential newfound ally!"

Bringing forth their infamous battle cry, the Elite warriors rushed forward. Their doubts were gone. They would gain the Demon's trust through action, if words alone would not convince him.

----

The shotgun had run out long ago. Instead, the Spartan stood wearily, both arms draped around two battle rifles. Though they had not been designed for one-handed use, the Master Chief just had to make do. Gritting his teeth each time he pulled the trigger, the Spartan could feel sweat on his brow, despite the temperature-regulated lining in his armor. But it wasn't the heat that brought about the sudden shean of sweat. It was the pain. An arm came swinging at him. But he was too tired. His dodge was too slow. The armored soldier barely braced himself as the blow connected. It was difficult but he managed to keep his feet even as he skidded a few yards away by the force of the hit. A dagger-like pain bloomed in his chest. That's when the Spartan knew something had broken. Master Chief coughed inside his helmet. He tasted blood.

'_Great_.'

Dazed, Master Chief had barely swung his arms around to continue firing before he felt the sting of several blows combined into one. He was once again seeing spots in his vision. When his mind rolled through the pain and exhaustion, he found himself down on one knee, lifting his arm weakly to continue his resistance. A group of combat forms rushed him. He took them down with a barrage of shots, but the ones that fell were replaced by triple the amount. And they had no pity for the soldier whose strength was slowly leaving him. A blink of an eye later, he found himself flying through the air, ironic as he found it hard to breath. What seemed like hours later, he reconnected with the ground with a bone-jarring landing. Groaning, the UNSC soldier tried to push himself up, only to cry out in pain as he found himself collapsed once more. He had tried to push himself up with his arms, too weak to get up any other way. Only to discover something that was sure to spell his death.

His left arm was dislocated. One of his legs had lost all feeling.

"SHIT!" He cursed aloud, knowing his luck had run out.

Yet even with that knowledge, the Spartan would not die facedown in the dirt. Ignoring the screaming pain from his two useless limbs, Master Chief drew himself up onto his one good leg. Against his will, he felt his fingers unable to keep a hold on the battle rifle. The only weapon he had on him clattered to the ground a heartbeat later. Locking his gaze with the lumbering foes around him, Master Chief waited. He waited for his death.

Shots filled his hearing. But looking down at himself, he was confused to find that his armor wasn't riddled with holes. His shields were down, after all. It had been unable to recharge during the relentless barrage of attacks. As he looked up, the Master Chief met another odd sight. All around him, the flood combat forms were falling down. Dead.

"Lean on me, Demon."

With a start, the Spartan swiveled his head to look beside him. He was too numb to express any shock. Thankfully, Ghlariknee didn't need to hear the question to know what he was being silently asked, "I am here to help you. We are here to help."

Master Chief swayed on his feet, trying to focus his eyes on the impossible sight around him. The red Elites, even the one gold one, were there. Surrounding him. But not to kill. They were... _defending _him. So many warnings and questions filled the soldier's head. Ghlariknee took a step closer and Master Chief felt his body tense. Ghlariknee stilled.

"I am not here to hurt you, Demon. Lean on me. We will help you heal."

"...no more... than that?" Master Chief barely managed to gasp. He instantly regretted it as his throat threatened to close up against the overwhelming pain. But he had to say it. Had to make sure.

"No," the red Sanghelli shook his head, "we wish to discuss something with you, but that will come up later."

Master Chief eyed him warily, despite his senses shouting at him to accept. To get away from the battle and allow his mind to slip under the thick blanket of unconsciousness. Rest. Live. Those were what his body needed. What _he _needed.

"I give you my word. You will not be harmed." Ghlariknee darted a worried glance at his comrades. They would not last long against the parasites. There were just too many of them. Turning back to the Demon, the Elite took a deep breath to still his distraught nerves, "You must... _trust _me, Demon."

What seemed like hours later, Ghlariknee got the response he had hoped for. With nothing more than a nod, Master Chief stepped towards the Elite. Immediately afterwards, he stumbled, though Ghlariknee was quick to catch him. With a short hiss of pain, the Spartan straightened himself before draping his good arm across the Elite's shoulders. Shifting the sudden weight he had to help hold up, Ghlariknee was instantly grateful his comrades would be protecting them. He needed all his focus to keep the colosal weight of the Demon and his armor up and walking.

The muscles in his bad leg spasmed suddenly, making Master Chief cry out and almost drag Ghlariknee down with him. But the Elite quickly righted them, trying his best not to cause more pain to the Spartan than necessary. Noticing them on the move, Drajha-Lee commanded his warriors to keep following. They were stationed in a tight circle, trying their best to protect the Demon and the fellow Elite within. Yet, a few of the combat forms managed to land inside. With a curse of his own, the red Elite supporting the Demon drew up his plasma rifle and fired 'till only burning twitching bodies lay around them. Raising their alertness higher, the Sanghelli managed to keep Ghlariknee and the Demon relatively safe after that. But Master Chief was no longer able to express his gratitude. Somewhere along the way, he had suddenly found the clutches of consciousness too hard to hold on to. His mind welcomed the darkness that rushed to envelope him.

---------------------------------

Well... _huh_. Hope Master Chief's okay.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Original characters belong to Halo and Bungie.

Author's Note: No slashy stuff in dis chapter. Though I seriously need to know whether ppl are thinking whether I should or shouldn't add it in later. SERIOUSLY.

-----------------------

The moment the Demon lost consciousness, Ghlariknee cried out. At least when he had been awake, Master Chief had been supporting half his own weight. But now, he was little more than a few elephants hanging onto the Elite's shoulder. "Leader! I cannot carry the Demon alone!"

Swiveling his head, Drajha-Lee cursed as he saw the truth to his Sanghelli's words. The red Elite was down to one knee, straining under the sudden burden of the Spartan's unconscious body. But it was hard enough keeping the flood back with the Elites he had fighting now. To lose another in order to carry the Demon was... less than acceptable.

--Renegade Command informed me you required assistance, Drajha-Lee?-- The golden warrior gawked as he heard the voice over the communicator. The battle had been so intense, he had been completely oblivious to the arrival of his Phantom hovering mere yards over their heads. The gravitational beam triggered and for a moment, Drajha-Lee wondered if maybe it had been a malfunction. For nobody had descended. That is, until he caught the faintest glimmer as someone with a cloaking device launched an attack.

The flood didn't know what hit them. At first, the rest of the major Sanghelli were as confused as the flood. But the blue shimmer of a 'floating' energy sword cut away their mystification almost as fast as it slashed through their foes. Combat forms were falling left and right, arms and deformed heads waving jerkily in their agitation, bewilderment clearly skewered in their moronic features. After a few stretched minutes of the continued slaughter, everyone soon found themselves safely inside the Phantom, heading as fast and as far away from High Charity's surface as they could get.

With a grin, Drajha-Lee slapped the back of the still invisible Sanghelli appraisingly, "Your timing is admirable, Arbiter."

"I do my best, Drajha-Lee." The Arbiter dropped the cloaking, a grin now visible on his face.

"Ah, do not be so modest." The golden one berated, manuevering the cobalt armored Elite over to his men. Most were doubled over, trying to regain much needed breath after the energy consuming battle. Others looked like they might need a quick trip over to the med room. But all perked up when they noticed the Arbiter. For the next few moments, they expressed their gratitude profusely, everyone's words tripping over another's. The Arbiter stood his place though, suffering the jumbled thanks in silence before Drajha-Lee cut in, "Yes, as you can see, Arbiter, we are more than thankful. If you had not come when you did..."

"Of course." The Arbiter's head dipped low in a nod, "I would not hesitate to assist any of my comrades. Though... I do find it strange you and your team were still on High Charity in the first place. What could be so important that you would risk your lives on the ground of that flood-ridden place?"

This is when Ghlariknee spoke up behind a huddle of Sanghelli, his voice strained, "Leader, he still breaths."

Curious, the cobalt Elite cocked his head a bit to the side, giving the golden one an inquisitive look. A huge grin spreading over his features, Drajha-Lee commented, "I do believe you will find this _most _interesting, Arbiter. You have met with him in previous, albeit brief, encounters."

This only intrigued the Arbiter more. Who, after all, could Drajha-Lee be talking about? One of his brows lifted, "I have?"

Leading the cobalt Elite over to the cluster of Elites, the Leader replied with a knowing grin, "Most assuredly so, Arbiter."

That's when the Arbiter finally caught sight of the person the golden Elite had been speaking of. He stiffened immediately, frozen in place by his own dumbfoundment. "This... this cannot be who... Who I think..."

The red Elites and the golden one grinned at the Arbiter's awestruck state. Few had ever thought much phased the legendary Sanghelli. The majority had believed such a thing impossible. Yet... here he was. Let's just say it took a while before the Arbiter remembered to close his gaping maw, none of the others wishing to end the amusing spectacle before its time. Shaking himself out of his befuddlement, the cobalt armored Elite stated in a clear voice, "So, the Demon managed to survive after all."

----

'_Oh... my **head**_...'

Master Chief slowly came to, trying to sit up. When he felt resistance, whatever part of his mind had been lagging suddenly jolted awake. In his confusion, he tried to speak. But all that came out were bubbles.

'_Bubbles? What the hell...!_'

The Spartan's eyes shot open, only to be invaded by the same liquid that filled his nose. His mouth. His... lungs. Out of reflex, Master Chief gagged. He wasn't supposed to be breathing liquid. Air. He needed air! Through the liquid he saw a room beyond some sort of clear barrier. The panic that rose in his mind didn't allow him time to think. All he knew was just one thing. He had to get out. His flexed his arm and his fist shot upward, for he was apparantly lying on his back. He felt something crack, the vibrations trilling through the liquid. Master Chief gagged again, bringing his fist back and bashing the barrier above him again. Still, it didn't break. Impatient now and in much need for air, the Spartan curled up, drawing his knees up to his chest. Then with a quick release of coiled muscles, Master Chief kicked his way through. Some form of glass shattering around him, the Spartan staggered to his feet, pulling himself out of something that reminded him very much of an ovular pod. One with a clear lid and liquid filling inside.

But he disregarded details as he bent over to hurl whatever alien liquid had invaded his lungs.

Liquid which was now spilling out and over onto... the purple... floor. Eyes narrowing, the dripping Spartan quickly surveyed his surroundings.The walls and the floor had a fleshy-looking purple and pink coloring to it. He had thought maybe it had been the lack of oxygen that was distorting the color. But no, it was really that color. So he must be in either a Covenant or Renegade forces ship. Groaning, Master Chief held his head as it throbbed achingly. He tried hard to remember what the last thing he did was. High Charity. The flood. The Elites. Fighting...

Oh right. They saved his life. Sighing, Master Chief lowered his hand and looked at it. Interestingly enough, his armor was still on. Currently dripping, but still functioning. All that was missing was his helmet. '_Not again_.' he groaned inwardly this time. Glancing more meticulously around the room, he noticed more pods like his own arranged in a few rows. A couple were occupied by what looked like unconscious Elites. Some he thought may have been the red Sanghelli who had helped him earlier. Looking at the mess he had made of the one he occupied, Master Chief shrugged, "My bad."

But there was still the matter of his helmet. It wasn't anywhere in the room that the Spartan could see. Feeling much better after the rest and... whatever the liquid pod had been, he made his way easily to the door. It opened as he approached and Master Chief couldn't help the involuntary pause he made, cautious in his new environment. Stepping warily into the empty corridor, Master Chief glanced in both directions before choosing one at random. Eventually he would run into someone. And when he did, he'd want a few answers.

----

"What is our plotted course?"

"Currently, we are heading towards one of our bases."

"No orders issued from Renegade Command?"

"Not as of yet, Arbiter. Though I am confident in the fact that you shall be one of the first to know."

The Arbiter nodded, turning back to look out of the main 'window' of the ship's bridge. Drajha-Lee, on the other hand, slumped deeper into his chair. Both were reflecting about the same thing. Or rather, about a certain someone. Throughout the bridge, there was a relatively low hum of idle chatting. Most, if not all, of those working at their stations were so familiar with their equipement that they didn't need all of their attention to get whatever they needed done. So they spent the time talking about things like the war. Or how their families were. Or about the more interesting topic as of late, their recent guest...

The Arbiter broke the silence between them first, "How do you think the Demon fares?"

The golden clad warrior shrugged, "A few more days... and who knows. He shall be well enough to walk around-"

The Sanghelli leader was interrupted as the door to the bridge whooshed open. At first, Drajha-Lee had been about to continue when he did a sudden doubletake. The Arbiter himself was already staring openly. Soon everyone's attention was focused at the door as the din slowly died down. The figure standing there was covered in watery goop, dripping as he took in all of the bridge. Then he noticed the stares of the Elites and shifted into a more alert sort of slump. Ignoring the water dripping from his soaked brown locks, the Demon's hardened blue eyes locked onto Drajha-Lee's.

The first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Where's my helmet?"

-----------------------------

Yeah, _so_. Uh... the Arbiter is there cuz the mission against that brute leader dude was finished and... uh, gravemind's teleportation thing ran out so he was back on High Charity. You'll find out more in the next chapter.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: HALO and BUNGIE own all original characters. I would never try to steal 'em.

Author's Note: Non-yaoi in this chapter. Relax all and enjoy.

**_Master Chief: _**"Thank GOD."

**_Arbiter: _**"I am as equally as relieved as the Demon."

**PyroStryke: **-smiles charmingly-

**_Ghlariknee: _**"...You are too kind, pyrostryke."

**_MasterChief: _**-_hisses_- "Shut up before the author takes it back."

-----------------------

"...How...?" Drajha-Lee was the first to snap out of it, "How is it that you are awake?"

Master Chief exhaled slowly, shrugging off the question as he crossed his arms. But the Arbiter wasn't fooled. Sure, the Demon looked relaxed. But beneath that aura of calm, he sensed the tense alertness of the armored soldier. His awareness was near, if not at, peak condition. A few weeks ago the Renegades had, of course, been his enemies. When they had still followed the Covenant. And now he was here, in the bridge of a former enemies' ship, the room itself filled with Sanghelli and grunts.

The gaze of the sage-armored soldier paused as it met a certain cobalt armored Elite across the room, "You... we've met before."

The Arbiter's brow raised in surprise before he nodded.

A frown sketched across the Spartan's features before fading away quickly, '_Huh, speak much?_' He shifted his gaze expectantly back at the golden-armored one.

"We... were not expecting your presence for a couple days, at least." Drajha-Lee commented.

Master Chief's eyes narrowed. Had they been messing with his helmet while he had been out? "How long have I been out? And what have you done with my helmet?"

"Calm yourself, Demon." A breath later, the missing helmet was flying through the air. Barely moving more than necessary, Master Chief stuck his arm up and caught it easily. The Arbiter continued, "You have barely been out for a day's cycle."

"The healing properties of the liquid cannot take effect unless it touches skin and enters the body of the wounded." Drajha-Lee explained carefully, pushing himself up from the chair to face the Demon directly, "We could not be sure it was reaching you unless a part of your armor was removed."

"And I must admit, I was curious about the renowned Demon's armor." The Arbiter confessed bluntly.

Master Chief inspected his helmet deliberately, his expression guarded though his intent was practically blaring. Let's just say the Demon wasn't exactly the diplomatic type. That was more or less Cortana's job. '_Cortana..._' Suddenly, the helmet didn't seem so important.

'_He is... tactless_.' Arbiter shook his head mentally, "I apologize for taking your helmet, but I assure you nothing was harmed."

Sparing a glance at the Arbiter, Master Chief nodded in acceptance, noting himself that nothing seemed out of place. He ran his hand through his wet hair, slicking it away from his face. '_It won't do me any good to think of her right now_.' Master Chief grimaced, clutching the helmet tightly between his hands. The Arbiter noticed the look of grief pass through the Demon's face, but did not bring attention to it. After slipping the last piece of his armor back on, Master Chief stood more comfortably. His titan-like armor was like his second skin and he always found like he was missing something when even the smallest piece was gone.

That's when Master Chief recieved the shock of his life.

--_Hey... didja miss me?_--

"C..." The Spartan suddenly found it extremely hard to speak, "...Cortana?"

---------------------------

-shrugs- Short Chapter. Thought I had to add something in after the two non-chapter things. Which are no longer there due to the new rules.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: The original characters of Halo-

**_Arbiter: _**-_crosses arms_- "Are owned by Bungie and Halo, not anyone else."

**_MasterChief: _**-_jerks his thumb at pyrostryke_- "Not by the author.PyroStryke's just crazy."

**PyroStryke: **-_indignant snort_- "**Hey**." -_But takes it all in stride, grinning_-

**Psychic Werewolf Assassin: **Have a damaged Pelican floating in space with Dr. Hasley and Kelly on it, and over time have Chief relize his feelings for the fastest Spartan. Nothing against yaoi, or any of that, but if you've read the Halo books, then it makes the most sense.

**PyroStryke: **"Oh yeeeaaah, I remember when that happened. When I found out they just up and left, I was just sitting there, thinking _WTF_. Where in the world did they go?" -_pauses for a while in thought, then glances up with a smile_- "Hey, if I get around to adding that in, it would sure help to get some advice."

**_Drajha-Lee: _**-_rolls his eyes, pretending to stare at the sky as he mumbles_- "Yeah, you shall need a LOT of that."

**PyroStryke: **-_stares at the golden Sanghelli_- "...You too now? What is this, pick on the author day?"

**The Allanx: **Heheh, excellent as always.

As for what "OH TEH NOES!" means, it's just a stylized version of "Oh no!"

You might notice a Spartan with "OH TEH NOES!" floating above his head as a name in Halo 2's "Idle Movies". ;)

**PyroStryke: **"Ohhhhh. Haha, gotcha." -_smiles_-

**_MasterChief: _**-_still in an angry sort of mood_- "_Took _you long enough."

**PyroStryke: **-_is too busy glaring to speak_- "..."

**_Ghlariknee: _**-_comments nonchalantly_- "You could always get them back. You are the _author_, after all."

**_Arbiter: _**-_horror washes over his face. Angrily, he hits MasterChief over the head_, "Idiot. Do _not _drag us down with your own foolish mistakes."

**PyroStryke:** "Hmmm..."

**Spacefan:** Oh, nice little zinger at the end there! Cortana's back-yea!

**PyroStryke: **-_grins_- "I know. It's so freakin' kool. I thought about it when I was going back and revising."

**_Cortana_: **"A girl's gotta keep the Chief in line." -_she shares the same grin as pyrostryke_-

**_MasterChief: _**"..."

**Mistah Eleganza: **Yay! More chapters! I think this is shaping up nicely. Great descriptive detail, and your dialogues are well played out. You're doing a great job!

I really hope that you decide to stick to your guns and slash it up! The whole hurt / comfort angle is a great way to set up that kind of a situation. And something to remember is that this is YOUR story, and you can do what you want with it. This is fanFICTION after all, so there's no one who can tell you what you can and can't do in it.

(But I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping you decide to slash, slash, SLASH!)

P.S. - I think that it would be neat if you paired up the Master Cheif with one of your original characters, like Ghlariknee. He's awesome!

**PyroStryke: **"Hehe, yeeaah, I'm still trying to get used to the whole fanfiction thing. It's just... well, I never realized that reviews could be so... persuasive." -_smiles sheepishly and scratches head_- "Anyways, thanx for the review and the compliment." -_smiles_- "And don't worry. The yaoi thing hasn't been given up. I'm just still trying to figure out how to get around to it."

**_Ghlariknee: _**-_has an awestruck look on his face. Then he looks around at everyone before saying numbly_- "...I have a fan."

**_MasterChief: _**-_elbows the red Sanghelli in the side_- "Hey, you have one up on the Arbiter."

**_Arbiter: _**-_but the cobalt Elite is too busy laughing to take much offense as he says_- "Demon... haha... did you not read what the Eleganza character wrote? You... and-" -_snicker_- "Ghlariknee... haha..."

**_Ghlariknee and MasterChief: _**-_stare at the Arbiter. Then stare at eachother. Suddenly they don't feel so comfortable being near one another and quickly separate_-

**_Drajha-Lee: _**-_pretends to be occupied with reading something as he warned_- "I would not laugh, if I were you, Arbiter. PyroStryke has not said yet _who _shall be paired with _whom_."

**_Arbiter: _**-_he sobers up quickly, turning to pyrostryke as he_ _clears his throat_- "Author, I believe the Demon has something to say."

**_MasterChief: _**-_shoved harshly towards the author, with the 'help' of the cobalt Sanghelli, Master Chief grumbles gruffly_- "I'm... sorry... for earlier. You did bring Cortana back, after all."

**PyroStryke: **"Yeah, _yeah_." -_tries to put up an angry front, but it crumbles in an instant_- "Anyways, Author's Note: There is..."

**_MasterChief, Ghlariknee and Arbiter: _**-_try not to seem like it, but are obviously straining to hear every word_-

**PyroStryke: **-_grins_- "... _not _any yaoi in this chapter."

-------------------------------------

Now it was Master Chief's turn to look baffled. Though everyone else in the bridge couldn't quite catch the expression behind his helmet, they could still read it from his posture. No one said anything. The UNSC soldier himself found it hard to keep breathing. If it was possible at all, he could almost believe his heart had stopped as well.

_(--Chief?--) _She whispered, her voice only heard by the Spartan when she did this.

But even Master Chief's thoughts were difficult to register.

When the silence stretched on for some time, the A.I. decided it was time to say something.

_--Aww, you did miss me.--_

Knowing her voice was being transmitted to the outside of his suit, Master Chief was careful to keep his composure, "I never wanted to leave you back there in the first place. Now _whose _bright idea was that?"

Though he was chastising her, Cortana caught the edge of worry and concern in his tone and she couldn't help but want to smile, _--Yeah, all right. It wasn't such a good idea. I can see the Renegade Forces have everything under control.--_

The Spartan admitted grudgingly, "Yeah, I guess they do."

Cortana lowered her tone to a whisper, directing the next thing she said to Master Chief only, _(--_Hey_, Chief. Show a little gratitude. The Arbiter was the one who rescued me, after all.--)_

_'He did?_' The Chief looked up in surprise, meeting the cobalt Sangelli's knowing gaze.

That's when the armored soldier realized everyone's eyes were on him. Not that he wasn't used to stares. But just... thinking that they used to be the enemy... Let's just say he still had an unnerving tingly feeling. Starting to feel uncomfortable, he tried to look for an excuse to just leave the room.

_(--I don't think dripping everywhere is a good way to show your thanks, Chief.--)_

_'Right' _He replied in thought, grateful for the help.

Turning his attention to Drajha-Lee, he asked, "Hey, is there somewhere I can go to clean up?" He indicated the still-dripping goo by lifting an arm.

Blinking, the golden clad Elite seemed to snap out of whatever he had been contemplating as he nodded, "Of course. I shall appoint one of the grunts to sho-"

"I shall go, Drajha-Lee." Arbiter interrupted, as he caught the Demon's gaze, "I believe he still has some questions I can undoubtedly give."

"Very well, Arbiter. If you insist."

The cobalt Sanghelli caught the Demon give the slightest nod and turned to Drajha-Lee and nodded himself, though his was more visible. As they both exited the room, Cortana said, _(--You know, _I_ could have told you what happened--)_

_'You could have,' _Master Chief agreed, _'but I want to hear his side.'_

_(--Why,--) _The Spartan could feel her small grin, _(--you think I'm gonna make everything up?--)_

_'...You know what I mean.'_

Cortana sighed, _(--Still as grouchy as ever...--)_

Master Chief thought to make a smart reply, but something in him decided to go with another approach, _'You know...'_

_(--What? What is it?--) _Cortana said wryly, thinking they were still joking around.

_'I missed you.'_

Now Master Chief was a blunt person. And Cortana, of all people, knew this. She had come to expect it on a daily basis. She had even missed it during their separation. Frankly, she regretted the decision she made the moment he had taken her chip out of his head. But the Chief had never been straightforward about his feelings. Hell, she hadn't even pinned the Chief as someone who even had feelings much less showed them. Well, besides anger. Anger he could do _real _good.

So you can't blame her when it was her turn to get all silent.

When the Demon chuckled, the Sanghelli swiveled his head to look at him, _'I wonder what they are talking about.' _Noticing eyes on him, the armored figure returned the glance.

Throughout the whole exchange between the A.I. and the Spartan, they had been walking. The Arbiter leading and Master Chief following inattentively behind. Yet the Sanghelli himself had been thinking. His thoughts and feelings were in a turmoil. It was something the Elite warrior found troublesome and uncomfortable. During his life, he had discovered a great animosity towards uncertainty and all its aspects. Especially when he was the one who was uncertain. The Covenant had, ultimately, been the greatest uncertainty of all. It had also turned out to be one of his greatest mistakes. To think he had _revered _the Prophets...

The next words that came out of the Chief's mouth summarized the Elite's agitated thoughts so well, that the Arbiter was at first too baffled to form a reply.

"_Why? _Why did you do it?" Master Chief asked, his gaze drilling into the cobalt Sanghelli beside him.

"Why did I..." He echoed. But he needed more time to think. The Elite hadn't even answered that question with _himself_, "I... truthfully, Demon, I do not know why."

Master Chief just stared back at him, not knowing what to say. He hadn't known what the Elite's response would be, but he had expected it to be more than that.

"Gravemind betrayed us, you know." The Arbiter said calmly, as if they were discussing the weather, "I had barely stopped the ring from being activated when I was suddenly transported to High Charity. Where the parasites were waiting."

The Spartan blinked, something clicking in his mind, "That's how I survived the fall. I must have been teleported closer to the ground."

"Into the hands of the parasites as well, no doubt." The Sanghelli replied bitterly, already having been somewhat told of how the Renegade Forces had spotted the Demon.

"Actually, I met up with your Sanghelli pals first. Though the flood weren't too far behind.." Master Chief replied, not adding the part that he had been making a tactical retreat.

_(--Hah, a tactical retreat...?--) _The Spartan could feel one of her eyebrows raised questioningly. But he was glad she was talking again, even if it was to make a jab at him. She had gone so silent when he had told her that... well, he was just glad she hadn't keeled over and died or something.

_'Yeah, it _was_. I was _**not **_running away, despite what you 'all-knowing' A.I.'s seem to think.' _The Chief replied defensively.

_(--Uh-huh--) _Cortana chuckled, not an ounce of belief found in her tone.

Master Chief sighed and shook his head mentally, outwardly returning his attention to the Arbiter.

"It's not exactly like we had a choice." Master Chief stated, arching his own brow.

"Still... I fear he will soon be the most troublesome parasite of them all..." The cobalt Sanghelli turned his gaze downwards thoughtfully, his three-clawed digits stroking his chin with an absentminded air.

_--Oh, Gravemind is a sly one. Much more different than your regular everyday brain-bashed flood.--_

Simultaneously, Arbiter and Master Chief asked, "How do you know?"

_--Well... besides the fact that I was the first one awake when we all just met, I managed to have a chat with him before the Arbiter here picked me up--_

"..._And_...?" The Chief replied with his usual tone when he wanted to get to the point.

_--Well, gee, don't you know how to make a girl feel good for trying to help out.-- _Cortana snapped back good-naturedly, before adding in a more thoughtful tone, _--Though... I guess you **do **have a right to be impatient. What with that evolved flood mastermind trying to destroy the Earth four times over and whatnot.--_

"Cortana." Master Chief growled threateningly.

_--Oh, right.-- _The A.I. chuckled, _--Sorry.-- _

"Why would he want to destroy Earth?" The Spartan asked, his tone more calm since he knew the A.I. would put joking aside for now. Even if for only a short while.

But the Arbiter beat her to it, "Because that is where the Forerunners have placed the Ark."

Master Chief felt both the Arbiter and Cortana waiting for his reply. But all he could think to say is: "What the hell are we talking about?"

"Tha Ark is located on the planet you humans call, Earth." The Sanghelli repeated.

Unfortunately, this repeated info didn't help the Master Chief at all. He just made a point to stop in the middle of the hallway and stare back at the cobalt-armored Elite. He repeated more slowly, "_What_... the _Hell_... are we talking about?"

The Sanghelli frowned, having heard that expression before and clearly developing a dislike to it. Especially with the way the Demon seemed to place more stress on it the angrier he got. The Arbiter tried once again, obviously thinking the Demon to be slower in thought-processing than he had been led to believe, "The Forerunners, **Demon**, the... _constructers _of the ring-"

"Yeah, I got that part." The Chief snapped. He was getting irritated really fast. Don't think he missed the insinuation in the Arbiter's voice. Master Chief was **not **an _imbecile_, "What I need to know is about the Ark. Is it like that old legend where the animals are gathered in a damn boat?"

The Arbiter was starting to get angry as well, "What?"

The A.I. sighed exasperratedly, feeling like the mom of two bickering boys, --The Ark is basically a main switch.-- She heard Master Chief start to object angrily that, once again, it didn't tell him anything. But she was quick to cut him off, --Look, just think of all the rings like light bulbs. The Ark is the switch to turn them all on. It also holds the power to shut them all off.--

Finally catching on, Master Chief thinks aloud, dawning horror in his voice, "And if he gets to Earth, shuts it off, and destroys it... then..."

Arbiter finished their trail of thought, "Then Gravemind will have permanently shut off the only weapon ever created to utterly defeat his species."

Suddenly, Master Chief no longer noticed the goo that still clung to his armor. His spirits, lightened by the safe return of his A.I., swiftly and unerringly darkened.

-----------------------------

**PyroStryke: **"OMG I just realized something... what the hell does the Ark look like? And does it do what I said it did?"

**_MasterChief: _**"... I thought you said no talking after the dash lines."

**PyroStryke: **-_blinks, then looks at the Spartan, too stunned to even glare_- "But... the story is at stake here."

**_MasterChief: _**-_huffs_- "**Great**."

**_Arbiter: _**-_looks at the reader_- "If you did not catch that, then there is nothing I can say to enlighten you."

**_MasterChief: _**-_hits him upside the head_- "Shut it." -_turns to the readers_- "She needs help with the Ark."

**PyroStryke: **-_waves hand nonchalantly, though author's face is still frozen in shock_- "No no. That's okay. I'll just move on in a different direction if I don't know anything about the damn Ark."

**_MasterChief: _**-_exhales angrily_- "I'm trying to help here."

**_Arbiter: _**-_crosses his arms_- "You obviously failed." -_turns to the readers_- "Ignore the author. PyroStryke requires information about the Ark. Add it into the review if you possess such knowledge."

Master Chief leaves suddenly. But when he comes back, he has a shotgun cradled in his arms. The Arbiter grins, his hand moving to his side. The author, on the other hand demands what the hell was done wrong in a past life before stomping angrily from the room, declaring aloud, "Unbelievable!" Ghlariknee, on the other hand, barely sidesteps the fuming author. Drajha-Lee exchanges looks with him, wondering, "Did we miss something?"


	8. Crap, slight nc yaoi

Disclaimer: Damn good thing Halo and Bungie **created **and **own **all their original characters.

**Spacefan: **You know, the Ark is a mystery to me. Some fanfiction authors have surmised that the Ark is the Forerunner ship that Truth took to Earth (and maybe Bungie promotes this idea too). Others say the Ark is an object/thing that does what you described (turn off the Halos that is). Yet others have depicted the Ark as the Earth a planet somehow protected from the effects of the Halos (if activated).

I prefer to think that the Ark is the Ark of the Covenant (emphasize the word Covenant), which the Old Testament says contained the ten commandments but also was said to have mystical powers (remember the first Indiana Jones movie?). Now, in case anyone thinks I'm some religious nut get that thought right on out of your heads (but I am Catholic)! Anyway, just some ideas to mull over...

**PyroStryke:** -_grins gratefully_- "Ah, kool. You know, I was wondering about the whole Ark thing. I mean, I didn't really remember getting much info on it in the first place. And yeah, I remember the movie. I dunno 'bout you guys, but I thought Indiana was really great." -_raises eyebrows in surprise_- "Hey, I'm Catholic too." -_though the author mumbles the rest_- "But I'm not as into it as I know I should be..."

**_MasterChief: _**"Personally, I like the whole, Earth being protected thing."

**_Arbiter:_** "Because your humans will survive?"

**_MasterChief:_** -_nods_- "Exactly."

**_PyroStryke:_** "Hey, don't be mean. The Renegades deserve to survive too."

**Mistah Eleganza: **Hooray for new chapters!

I wish I had something useful to add concerning the Ark, but all my knowledge of Halo has been derived only from the games themselves.

And of course Ghlariknee has a fan! He's cute! But you better warn him. I have been described as ninja-like in my tackleGLOMP! skills...

Looking forward to reading more!

**PyroStryke:** "Yeah, I just go off from what I know from the games and what I remember from the books." -_shrugs, with a big grin_- "But, hey, you still reviewed and that's what counts."

**_Drajha-Lee:_** -_nudges the red Sanghelli, grinning_- "If you do not wipe that shocked grin on your face, your might lose your fan."

**_Ghlariknee:_** -_still stares off in wonder, mumbling to himself in awe_- "I have a fan."

**PyroStryke:** -_eyebrow raised at the star-struck Elite, the author turns back to the readers_- "Well, I said I'd warn you. And here it is..."

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**: Aw, crap. Looks like **THERE IS SOME YAOI IN THIS CHAPTER**. **So turn back flamers **and **wait **for the **next chapter**. **AUTHOR'S NOTE**

A loud 'thunk' can be heard. Everyone turns to find Ghlariknee, once again, fainted on the floor.

-----------------------------

_--You will take a bath, Chief. This gunk is gross.--_

"Cortana," The Spartan argued, "what about the Ark. And Gravemind?"

_--Oh ho ho, they're not going anywhere Chief. We've got, what, a few weeks at least before we reach Earth. And that's with the use of slipspace.--_

"Of all the A.I.'s, I get stuck with the one with a cleaning complex." Master Chief grumbled under his breath. But Cortana didn't push it. She knew she had won the argument.

The Arbiter had stood by, watching the argument with an amused expression on his face, "The great Demon, cowed by an A.I.?"

The Chief turned towards the cobalt Sanghelli, growling in his own defense, "Hey. This is partly your fault, you know. You just had to go and rescue her, didn't you."

_--Aw, Chief-- _The A.I. laughed, _--you're not actually going to deny what you said earlier, are you?--_

"...No."

Satisfied, her smile seemed to filter into her voice, _--...Hnn, that's what I thought.--_

"I am sure you can continue this conversation later... but I have duties to attend to." The Arbiter said in an apologetic tone.

"Of course." The Master Chief said, "Just point out the way and you're off the hook."

"...What hook...?" The Arbiter's brow was lifted in confusion.

_--He just means you can go on attending to your other duties.-- _Cortana translated.

"Indeed..." The cobalt Sanghelli trailed off, turning around and leading them towards what he called the 'Purification' room.

But when Master Chief was faced with the chamber the Elite offered, he just sort of stood there. Confused. The chamber before him was stretched vertically, the curved walls forming somewhat of an upright capsule. There were no buttons or knobs whatsoever, "Uhh..." Looking off to the side, the Spartan spotted a larger room with objects that resembled the facets and knobs from the relics of Earth, "Why can't I just use those ones?"

"But this one is so much better." The Elite started to argue when he suddenly got a far off look on his face. Obviously someone had contacted him on the communicator. With a somewhat hassled look, he turned back to the Spartan, "If you insist Demon. Yet I must be off."

With a quick sort of bow, the Sanghelli turned around and headed down the hall.

_--Sort of busy, isn't he?-- _Cortana commented.

"Hey, he is supposedly as good as me, right?" Master Chief replied with a wry grin, "There must be people bugging him all the time too."

_--Less talking, more cleaning-- _The A.I. reminded.

Rolling his eyes, the Spartan commented under his breath, "See what I mean?"

_--Hey, I could hear you, you know.--_

"Not if I do... _this_." The Chief popped off his helmet, chuckling to himself. He might be coming back to a very ticked off A.I. after his shower, but he felt it was worth it.

Mulling over the large range of choices in the room, the Spartan finally settled with one that looked relatively unique. It was sort of closed off from the others, like the one the Arbiter had offered first. Except this one had knobs that the Chief found he could identify with. The complete smoothness of the first chamber had just proved too... _weird_. Shrugging off the armor with ease, thanks to his mind-link, Master Chief piled it carefully on the floor. Stepping inside, he nearly jumped as a door suddenly closed behind him.

"...Okay." He said aloud, more to make himself relax than anything else. This was a Purification chamber, like the Sanghelli said. If there had been anything dangerous, the Elite would have warned him. Finding comfort in the logical string of thoughts, Master Chief turned back towards the knobs, "So, I turn this one this way... and this one that way... and..."

After a few moments, Master Chief said slowly, "Uhh... is this thing broken?"

Then all of a sudden, mist seemed to spray out of the walls itself. Frowning, the Master Chief glanced around him, "Strange. So this is how they clean themselves?" At first, he had forced himself to relax slowly, when he suddenly got this strange feeling. Jerking his head around, the Chief's expression grew more alarmed by the second. The tingly feeling was growing inside of him. Something that must have laid dormant within him, suppressed during the augmentations.

"That's it, I'm outta here." Master Cheif decided immediately, turning around towards the door. There was only one problem. The door wouldn't open, "What the hell?"

----

Ghlariknee picked himself out of the healing pod, liquid dripping from his slick skin. He felt refreshed, as always. But now he would have to clean himself off. Taking the shortest route, he found himself quickly at the entrance to the Purification chambers.

His head cocked slightly to the side, "Strange, someone seems to be already in here."

Shrugging, the Elite went inside and dumped his gooey armor into a pile on the floor. But soon, curiousty overcame his normal reigning senses. It did not sound like the normal purging waters.

Walking in hesitantly, Ghlariknee glanced to the side. His speculative glance easily caught the pile of armor on the floor. By the next breath, his jaw dropped, "No... he is... the Demon cannot be using _that _chamber."

Shaking himself out of the shock, the scarlet Sanghelli dashed to the door of the occupied chamber, his fists clenched. _'That is the chamber for preparation for the Sacred Acts! Has no one informed him!'_

_'He cannot be aware of the fail safe lock on the door! He would not be able to get out!' _Ghlariknee's panicked thoughts rushed through his head, even as he slammed his fist next to the door, drawing out the hidden 'key pad' next to the chamber. Pressing his hand flat against it, he barely looked up before the Demon crashed into him. His breath was knocked out of him.

Master Chief found it difficult to focus. He knew he had been trapped in the misty chamber one second, and the next he was sprawled out on floor. Wait, he wasn't exactly on the floor. He felt something shift beneath him. Or rather, someone. The feeling that had awakened in the chamber stirred restlessly within him. He couldn't think straight. Couldn't think...

Ghlariknee groaned, "_What_...? Demon, are you okay?"

The Sanghelli looked up to find the Demon looking down at him with a very odd look, "Demon?" When he still recieved nothing but a prolonged stare, the red Elite started to get worried. How long had he been in that chamber, the Sanghelli wondered ominously.

"I, uh, see you are busy." Ghlariknee said hastily, taking it upon himself to shove the Chief off him as he stood up. Still, no response, "I shall just... return later to purify myself."

Having barely turned, the Sanghelli heard a low growl behind him. Tensing, Ghlariknee threw a worried glance over his shoulder. The Demon was crouched, a feral look in his eye. Cursing, the red Elite whipped his gaze forward and started running. But it was much too late for escape. He cried out in surprise as he felt an iron grip around his waist. A moment later he found himself back on the ground, pinned on the wrists by a dangerously silent Demon.

"I... apologize if I have upset you..." The scarlet Sanghelli heard, more than acknowledged the babble streaming out of his mouth, "but I... do not believe... you are in the right mindset right now."

The pinned Elite tried to free himself. Only to recieve a warning growl from the Demon crouched above him. Ghlariknee instantly froze, "Demon... I demand release. You are not thinking clearly."

Ignoring Ghlariknee's protests, the Chief straddled him, leaning closer as a growl rumbled in his throat. That's when something was made painfully aware to the frozen Sanghelli. Both of them were naked.

Master Chief noticed it as well as his hands roamed over the Sanghelli's skin testingly."Demon," Ghlariknee hissed as the hands left unusually hot trails in their wake, squirming in his pinned position, "DO NOT... do not do... this."

"You talk to much." And with that, the Spartan dipped low and decided to explore the body beneath him with his mouth.

Ghlariknee gasped at the hot warmth trailing over his chest, his clenched hands shaking with the loss of control he suddenly felt. The Demon was... he was trying to.. Ghlariknee frowned. He couldn't talk him out of it. But then again, the red Sanghelli did consider himself sometimes more inclined to action than words.

The Elite bucked, throwing the unexpecting Chief halfway off, his grip lost on one of Ghlariknee's wrists. Taking the small opening, the Elite curled his free fist and slammed it into the Demon's face. Though he was stunned, his hold on the Elite's other wrist did not slacken. Panicking, Ghlariknee rolled them both over, effectively pinning the Demon beneath him. But much to his horror, the Demon did not seemed deterred after struggling for no more than a few breaths. Grinning ferally, the Demon moved his hips, but in no way was it an attempt to escape.

Feeling something hot and hard rubbing underneath him, Ghlariknee froze once again. Squeezing his grip on the Demon's wrist, the Sanghelli demanded, "Stop it."

"Why?" Master Chief questioned, doing it again as his breathing hitched a bit.

Ghlariknee growled, feeling his own need rise within him, "This is not right. The Sacred Acts are something to be cherished, Demon. Not taken or shared with someone such as yourself."

"If you don't want to share, I'll just take what I want." The currently, not-quite-thinking-right Spartan growled, continuing his lower bodily movements.

Ghlariknee gasped at the unexpected pleasure, his grip slackening. Something the Demon took full advantage of as the Elite suddenly found himself pinned much closer to the Chief than he wanted, "You are... the mists have affected you... much more than it... should have."

The Demon grunted, taking advantage of the bodily contact to rub more fully and effectively against the Sanghelli, "Feels... so good..."

Their legs were entangled, thanks to the Demon, who also took a moment caccoon the rest of the Elite with his own body. "Nnng, Demon." Ghlariknee found it very hard to talk, what with the Chief still rubbing erotically against him, his mouth currently exploring the Elite's neck, "...s-stop..." But the Demon made it a point to ignore the feeble protests.

Soon, Ghlariknee was moaning, much to his own disbelief and horror. The Demon could NOT be affecting him this way. He was not attracted to him. And if he hadn't taken THAT shower, of all showers, the Demon wouldn't be doing this. Every time the Elite attempted to clench his fist in a futile effort to punch the Demon, Master Chief would somehow know, and momentarily speed up his movements. Master Chief was enjoying immensely all the new feelings he recieved as he 'got to know' the Sanghelli's body.

_'How can I... stop this!' _Ghlariknee wondered in his trapped state.

---------------------

**_Ghlariknee_:** "..." -_he turns to Master Chief_- "...you... you molester..."

**_MasterChief_**: "...HEY, I was _under _chemically induced influences. What the HELL did you Sanghelli put in that shower?"

**_Arbiter:_** "If you had simply used the one I directed you too..."

**BlueBastard**: "Aww, poor guys."

**_Ghlariknee, MasterChief, and Arbiter: _**"..." -_stares some more_- "...Who the Hell are you?"

**BlueBastard**: -_clearly offended_- "I'm still the same person. I just wanted to change my name. Anyways, on to the next chapter."


	9. uh oh, nc yaoi continued

Disclaimer: I don't own Bungie or Halo's characters, but I don't mind using 'em.

**A/N: **Taken a short bit before updating. But what with the meteor coming and the moldy cheese, what can you do? Damn, I wanted to shove the yaoi all in the last chapter, but I wasn't able to. So this is another **YAOI** chapter. **DO NOT READ IF YOU HATE THE STUFF AND WAIT FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER, DAMMIT!**

**_Ghlariknee: _**-_grimaces, rubbing the side of his head_- "My ears."

**_Arbiter:_** -_grins_- "That is not all you have to worry about."

**_MasterChief:_** -_growls_- "You should put a damn warning on those shower things. This is so dumb."

**_Ghlariknee:_** -_slams head repeatedly against the wall_- "This cannot be happening."

**_MasterChief:_** "You can say that again." -_glares fiercely at the author_- "You SAID I was not gay. I am NOT fuckin' gay."

**BlueBastard:** -_looks innocently_- "You aren't. What can I say. If anyone, blame the Arbiter."

**_Arbiter:_** -_he had been comforting Ghlariknee, but at the author's accusation, he glared, confused_- "What?"

**BlueBastard:** -_shrugs_- "You heard me. Now on with the story."

---------------------

The room was empty. Well, except for the tangled mass on the floor.

Ghlariknee groaned, still trying in a futile effort to free himself. He was pinned to the floor, the Demon currently entangled on top of him, they're hot bodies smothered together. The Sanghelli was flustered. But the Demon was turned on.

"Demon..." Ghlariknee hissed, placing his hands against the Demon's chest and attempting to shove him off. But his strength was going haywire under the sensual assault from the warm heat-filled pleasure. A pleasure the Sanghelli was trying his best to ignore.

"Why struggle?" Master Chief grunted, placing his mouth right next to the Sanghelli's ear, "Why not sit back and enjoy?" The part of his brain that was still functioning knew the Sanghelli could enjoy this. The Sanghelli's body WAS responding, after all. And if only the Sanghelli wouldn't bite back his groans of pleasure...

Ghlariknee shivered as the Demon's hot whispered breath brushed against him. Shivering again, he tried pushing with renewed strength, "Because this... is WRONG."

"Mmm..." The Demon continued giving the Sanghelli's neck his attention, nipping it to get a sharper gasping reaction from the Elite, "Isn't it?"

"Gods..." Ghlariknee gasped, arching back in an attempt to escape the Demon's needy mouth, "Yes... it IS..."

But the movement didn't have the reaction he had anticipated. Instead of elluding his captor, the Sanghelli rubbed against the epicenter of all the lust radiating from the Demon's body. Rather, he inspired the Spartan to go faster. Growling, Master Chief quickly flipped them both, now back on the top. His eyes predatorily scoped his prey beneath him. Grimacing at the familiar position, the Sanghelli stilled for a moment. Hoping to lure the Demon into a false sense of security. It worked.

"Finally giving in, are you?" The Demon asked, his mouth lilting into a satisfied grin.

That was when Ghlariknee gave the strongest head butt he had ever delivered, putting his full force into it. It made the Demon reel and release him, his hands grasping his forehead as he clenched his teeth in pain. But the blow had hindered the Sanghelli as well. He was seeing stars and his head was numb. Forcing all of that from his mind, the Elite turned himself over on his hands and knees, sluggishly starting to crawl away. At a sound from the Chief behind him, he quickly sped up, pushing himself onto his feet.

"You can't escape so easily." The Spartan growled, lunging for the Elite.

Ghlariknee didn't know how it was possible, but he managed to dodge and gain a few more sprinting steps to the entrance of the Chambers.

_'Have to get out. Must... get help.' _He thought slowly, his mind still recovering from his own blow and what happened with the Demon.

But just as he was about to step out, the Demon rammed him into the wall, effectively knocking the breath out of him. The Sanghelli had a dazed look as he felt strong hands turn him around. His back was pushed against the wall while his front was guarded by the body of the intoxicated Demon. Snapping out of it and gaining back his breath and muscles, the Elite struggled, "I will not allow you to do this... Demon."

Pressing one of his legs between the Sanghelli's, the Chief had the satisfaction of deriving a moan from his unwilling partner as he grinned devilishly, "You and what army?"

The move effectively drained the Elite's strength, much to Ghlariknee's dismay. He had been so close to the entrance. Surely someone would have noticed them there. Surely someone could stop this from happening. Clenching his mandables, the Sanghelli pulled back a fist and threw it at the Demon. But Master Chief caught it in a lightning fast move, shaking his head as he berated, "Tsk, tsk, Ghlariknee. No more of that."

He paled at how easily his attack was deflected. Was this truly affecting him so much? How could the Demon be doing this to him? Noticing the drainage of color, the Master Chief grinned once again, bringing his face closer to his prisoner's, "You see? Resisting is useless."

That said, he began his minstrations once again, his hot kisses making the pinned Sanghelli shiver.

"I will... resist... nonetheless... Demon." Ghlariknee hissed, hating how his body trembled.

"Not when you start... to see... just how good it feels, Ghlariknee." Pausing, the Chief drew his head back as he commented, "Well look at that, I rhymed."

That's when the unexpected of all unexpectedness happened, "Ghla...riknee...?"

The Arbiter had been walking by when voices from the Purification Chambers had caught his attention. He had dropped the chest armor he had been carrying, while his jaw had dropped as well. The Demon had the red Sanghelli effectively pinned against the wall, both bodies quivered slightly from what he could only read as...lust? He... didn't want to believe it...

"The... Sacred Acts... with the Demon...?" The cobalt Sanghelli looked confused, though he tried not to appear angry.

_'Stay calm,' _he counseled himself, though one of his fists still clenched, _'STAY calm.'_

If Ghlariknee had chosen the Demon, of all people to do this with, then it was his choice. The Arbiter was not one to tell him otherwise. _'This cannot be true...' _The Demon's face was unreadable at the moment, so he turned to the shocked and stunned expression of the Sanghelli he had been addressing. But none were answering him. The Arbiter let out a sigh. So it was true.

"I... guess I have come at a bad time." The Arbiter said slowly, bending to retrieve his fallen armor. He had been carrying it over to the Repair Station for a huge dent he had recieved in the parasite battle. He had just gotten some time to do it, too. But to run into his comrade, like this...

Suddenly finding his voice, Ghlariknee reached towards the Arbiter as he cried out weakly, "Arbiter... help me..."

Shock coursed through the cobalt Sanghelli at what those words implied. Then in an heartbeat, he had tackled the Demon, effectively freeing the red Elite. Shuddering, Ghlariknee tried to regain his breath for the third or fourth time that day.

The Arbiter and the Demon were locked in an evenly matched wrestle on the ground. The Arbiter was mad, "How DARE you touch my Ghlariknee."

The Demon paused for a moment, blinking curiously, "Yours...?"

The momentary pause allowed the Arbiter to get a blow in, one that stunned the Demon for a while. Clenching his mandables, the Arbiter twisted around and attempted to get the Demon into an unescapable hold. But the Chief's training was just too good.

The Spartan slipped before the hold could be fully placed on him. Pivoting, he tackled the cobalt Elite, driving both of them to the ground. Due to the armor he still wore, the fall didn't do much to hurt the Elite. Growling, the Arbiter landed a blow on the Demon. The Sanghelli tried to land another one, but the Demon rolled, leaving the floor to catch the Arbiter's fist.

Crunch.

Quite an impact cracked onto the floor's surface. The Demon blinked respectively at the force that must've been behind it. If he had been in the right mind set, he would've considered complimenting the Sanghelli. But right now, he was a sex-craving fiend and wanted no more than to innocently fuck the first naked thing that came within his sights. Said shaking Sanghelli was in the room right now, right out of the Demon's reach. As he took a moment to glance at Ghlariknee, the Arbiter kicked full out onto the side of the Demon's head. For a moment, the Demon was seeing stars. Shaking his head out of the daze, the Demon retaliated with enough force to knock the Arbiter unconscious.

He turned from the cobalt Sanghelli to see a red one climbing warily to his feet, a plasma rifle in hand, "...Do not MOVE... Demon."

Grinning savagely, the Spartan took a step towards the trembling Sanghelli.

But a second step suddenly made the Chief collapse. An unexpected turn of events that left Ghlariknee standing there numbly. Groaning, Master Chief raised his head, freezing when he came face to face to a plasma rifle.

"What... the HELL...?" He muttered in confusion, before unconsciousness took him away.

Realizing things had finally calmed down, Ghlariknee allowed himself to slide lower, his back against the wall, until he was sitting with an abrupt 'thunk'. Plasma rifle still in hand, he exhaled deeply as he looked over the two unconscious warriors.

_'They are both... so strong...'_

That's when Drajha-Lee came in, "I could not reach either of you over the communicators so I-" The golden Sanghelli cut himself off as he took in the scene before him. He turned to Ghlariknee, his brow raised.

"I know... I know, I have some explaining to do..." Ghlariknee sighed wearily, waving his arm as if it would batt away the Leader's stare.

-----

Master Chief was NOT one happy camper when he woke up.

He was laid down against a cushy table of sorts. But that's not what angered him. It was the straps that were holding him there that made him growl his frustration.

He looked over to the door when it whooshed open, a glare he had reserved just for the Arbiter on hand, "You Sanghelli should consider putting warning labels on your damn showers."

The Arbiter, in turn, narrowed his eyes, "Labels? Showers? I know not of what you speak, Demon."

Sighing, the Chief explained, "You know, the little sign things that warn people about dangerous things. Like that strange shower of yours."

"That is the special Chamber for preparation of the Sacred Acts."

"Oh, NOW you tell me. That's a bunch of help there, Elite." The Spartan's words dripped with sarcasm, before he inquired angrily, "Now can you tell me WHY the hell am I strapped down and WHERE is my damn armor."

"For precautions, of course." The cobalt Sanghelli replied, waving over to a bundle on the floor, "And we did not know how to place your armor back on."

"That and you probably wouldn't want me more powerful in case I was still beserk." Master Chief said darkly, "What is the so-called Sacred Acts anyways?"

The Arbiter paused in his attempt to get the straps off, giving a look that the Spartan decidedly not liked, "It is what you were about to force upon Ghlariknee."

"THAT'S what it wa... Why didn't you WARN me about the DAMN thing?"

"I pointed out a Chamber for you," The Arbiter shrugged, taking off the last of the binding, "it was you who chose differently, Demon."

---------------------

**_Arbiter:_** "I saved you."

**_Ghlariknee and MasterChief:_** "Thank GOD."

**BlueBastard:** -_sighs and scratches head_- "Well... that was... uh, interesting. I guess." -_gazing upwards with another sigh, says with a shrug_- "Well... there goes some of my reviewers. Eh, what can you do."

**_MasterChief:_** -_grins smugly_- "Now... can we get back to the action?"

**BlueBastard:** -_grins own smug little grin_- "Coming right up."


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not, and would not ever, mislead anyone that I ever owned Halo or Bungie's characters. -_shrugs_- besides, no one would believe me.

**Mistah Eleganza: **But don't torture poor Ghlariknee too much! (hugs him...) Poor guy! I won't let the mean ol' author hurt you. (points at the author in a less-than-menacing fashion...) Be nice!

**_Ghlariknee:_** -_grins wryly_- "You heard mistah. Be NICE."

**BlueBastard:** -_smiles understandingly, though from the author's eyes the Elite could perceive something more...-_

**_Ghlariknee: _**-_gives the author a distrusting look_-

JTB: You Suck!

**BlueBastard:** -_eyebrow raises slightly_-

**_Drajha-Lee:_** "Hmm, harsh words." -_BlueBastard shrugs and turns to the next review_-

Kaname: (grinning evily) Mwahahahaha!

In the background, the characters can be seen paling visibly.

**BlueBastard:** -_says reassuringly_- "Don't worry. The yaoi will be on the side. You guys are getting rusty so I say some action is needed."

**Spacefan:** Just what IS in the shower water?

MasterChief turns to Arbiter with a harshly inquisitive look.

**_Arbiter: _**-_huffed out_- "That is not information we Sanghelli will just give out lightly."

**BlueBastard:** -_warns, though a grin is barely concealed the author can barely stop from laughing_.- "Hey, be nice to the reviewers."

**Psychic Werewolf Assassin:** The Sanghelli need help getting it up? They can't just pop some pills like Hugh Hefner? Is this a genetic thing, or something? Wow, an entire species would need chemicals to get turned on, as humans just need to think about something to get ready. That's seriously sad.

**BlueBastard:** -_Stares. Blinks. Stares some more. Looks at the Sanghelli. Bursts out laughing. In that order_-

Arbiter and Ghlariknee look speechless.

**_Drajha-Lee:_** -_takes offense_- "Hey, the shower, as you humans call it, does not... 'turn us on'. It merely makes it more... exciting."

**BlueBastard:** -_grimaces, covering both ears_- "Tmi. TMI."

**Pink Skittles:** Well that was interesting... but it was good :)

**BlueBastard:** -_grins gratefully_-

**_Ghlariknee:_** -_whispers_- "Pink liked it."

**_Arbiter:_** -_in a bored tone_- "I do believe the author got that, Ghlariknee."

**Toki Mirage:** KICK ASS! can't wait to find out what happens next!

**_MasterChief:_** -_pumped up for action_- "Fuckin' yeah!"

**_Arbiter: _**-_smiles_- "I look forward to dying with honor as well."

**_MasterChief:_** -_gives the Elite a look_- "Dude, don't give BB those kind of ideas..."

Sirael: I didn´t want to be so rude but I really had to tell you. Sorry.

**BlueBastard:** -_grins, scratches head and shrugs_- "Eh, no hard feelings. I can take it."

guesswhoo: It ended like this? No big deal about MC and Ghlariknee nad the others? You abslutely rock Blue!

**BlueBastard:** -_grins uncontrollably_- "Why thanx."

**_Arbiter:_** -_nudges MasterChief and Ghlariknee, turning to Drajha-Lee as well_- "Do you trust that grin on BlueBastard's face?"

The room is filled with resolute **'NO's**.

steven: funny very funny, kind of out there but still funny. But anyway love the story keep it up.

**_MasterChief:_** -_snickers_- "Dude," -_he nudges Arbiter_- "he must be talking about you."

**_Arbiter:_** -_gives the Spartan an offended, disgruntled look. Then decides the Chief's comment not worthy enough to respond to. Much to his dismay, he could hear Drajha-Lee and Ghlariknee barely stifling their own laughter_- "Traitors."

gloria Stone: "insert review here" (its very good but long)

**BlueBastard:** -_looks surprised at first, but settles into the usual comfortable grin_- "Huh, that is what I'm usually like with fanfics I read. And yeah, you caught me. First time yaoi writer right here. And thank god you get it that this is _just _a story as well. I freakin' look up to the Chief. No way could I really see him as gay. Not that I have anything against gay people. It's just... the Chief doesn't seem like he'd... uh... go that way." -_smiles at the look the Spartan gave of utter certainty_- "But that doesn't mean I can't still mess around with him."

Seeing the dangerous look the Spartan gave, the author quickly moves on to the story.

**A/N:** Reviews rock. Be truthful. And if possible give helpful suggestions. -_grins_- **No yaoi **in this chapter.**A/N**

-----------------------

Master Chief cursed as the ship jerked again from another blow. Stumbling only slightly, he managed to stabilize himself quickly before his feet shot out from underneath him. He made it to the bridge in record time.

"Who's attacking us?" He demanded, not caring that he was snapping at what was probably a higher ranker officer.

Drajha-Lee barely glanced back, "Demon. We were hailed by one of the Covenant vessels. Our intelligence, as of late, has been lacking. The password we gave was incorrect."

The ship recieved another hit and the Spartan lurched forward. He corrected himself and lunged for the back of Drajha-Lee's seat, gripping it until the vibrations had subsided.

"Why don't you fire back?" Master Chief suggested in his gruff voice.

"Do you not think we TRIED that, Demon?" The golden Sanghelli replied roughly, "It seems the Covenant have stolen another type of technology. One that breaks the flow of the energy core which powers the ship."

"A jamming device?"

"In human terms, yes Demon. We are barely managing to manuever as it is."

Master Chief growled, crossing his arms. This is why he hated space battles. He would pick a ground fight any day. At least when you were on the ground, you wouldn't have to rely fully on machinery and weapons. Such things were known to fail at critical moments. Fists, on the other hand...

"So what's the plan?"

"The plan?" The Sanghelli swiveled his head to look at the Demon with in incredulous look, "Why, to survive to fight another day."

_--Slipspace?--_

Drajha-Lee shook his head, "That requires much power. Power that is currently being cut off."

With his skilled eye, the Chief was able to spot something through the monitors. He pointed, "What's that?"

At the same time, one of the Renegades in front of the navigational controls spoke up, "Leader, a planet has been spotted on the sensors."

Drajha-Lee's look was grim, but he had no other option, "Bring us to the planet. We will face them on solid ground."

Straightening, Master Chief stared hard at the screen, his mood suddenly lightened, "Now that's what I'm talking about."

"Care to join us, Demon?" The Arbiter asked, striding up behind the Chief.

Crossing his arms, the Spartan turned around to face the cobalt Sanghelli fully, "Do you even have to ask?"

:several moments later:

The ship finally landed with a bone-jarring quake. Everyone not secure in their seats were practically thrown off their feet. The Master Chief and the Arbiter were barely able to stay standing as it was.

"Will they take the bait, Drajha-Lee?"

"Either that or the Covenant will simply incinerate us on the spot." Drajha-Lee replied to the Arbiter.

"Like hell they will." Master Chief hissed, grabbing a plasma cannon off a startled grunt before racing out of the ship.

The Renegades in the bridge stared after the armored figure disappeared. Turning to Arbiter, the golden Sanghelli commented, "...I like his spirit."

The cobalt Elite nodded his head in agreement, "_That _the Demon has a lot of, leader."

On the Covenant ship, startled jackals chittered their unhidden surprise to the Brutes behind them. Regarding this as one of their jittery companions' usual traits in battle, a huge Brute sighed lazily from his chair, "What?"

He had assumed the battle was won. The Renegade ship was down. What more excitement could be derived besides seeing the stolen ship blast into a million pieces? His assumption turned out to be dead wrong.

Raido's eyes latched onto the screen the moment a certain armored individual filled its zoomed in screen. Green armor. Reflective visor. The air of danger, strength and experience radiating from the lone, single form. The Brute gnashed his teeth in a very beastly way, "The DEMON."

Then he finally tuned into what nonsense the jackals were attempting to spout in his ear. The Demon was armed.

_--Awww, they look so happy to see you.-- _

"Greetings from a certain friendly Spartan." Master Chief growled wryly under his breath. His target locked, he let loose.

A barrage of huge green blobs filled their screen before the Covenant ship shuddered under the attack. Brutes were yelling viciously at their underdogs, blaming them for not manuevering in time. Raido, angered, swung his arm. One of the jackals just about exploded at the force of the impact, splattering purple and blue blood over the controls. Not that the Brute noticed. Or even cared.

Taking the spot of the opening he had just cleared, the Brute lurched the ship forward. He had no clue how in all hells the notorious soldier had appeared before him, out of this Renegade ship no less, nor did he particularly care at the moment. If it was a fight the Demon wanted, it was a fight he would get.

Down on the ground, the Chief shot a look over his shoulder as Renegades piled out behind him, "Hmm, seems I got their attention."

Drajha-Lee nodded his thanks, "It seems they have not forgotten you yet, Demon."

_--Who could forget him?-- _Cortana replied, _--We always take the chance to say hello to our bitter enemies. A little friendly exchange of fire. A few explosions. They could never forget.--_

"We should get moving." The Arbiter stated the obvious, "Standing here will only be asking for trouble."

Their silence consenting their agreement, the Renegades and the Spartan spread out into the tree line, armed and ready.

--------------------

Yeah, its short. I just need to know if people are still interested in this storyline. Wouldn't want to waste my time for nothin', now would I.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Shouldn't you know by now...?

A/N: -grins, surprised- oh, so people do like the story. Huh, I wasn't sure for a while. Well, gotta give the people what they want...

--------------------

Raido didn't even hesitate to land the space craft. He probably wouldn't bother slowing down if the damage of the ship wasn't reminded to him by a now unconscious jackal on the floor. The Brute didn't even blink an eye. Jackals were beneath his notice. The Demon, on the other hand...

;-;

"What's the plan?" Master Chief questioned in low tones.

He, the Arbiter, and Drajha-Lee were currently huddled together. The rest of the renegades were spread out through the forest, at least one within eyesight of another so a known signal could be passed along the line. The Spartan didn't know much of their signals. Hence, the asking of the question.

"We cannot fight them ship to ship, since ours is currently useless." Drajha-Lee commented.

"Who will we be fighting?" The Demon demanded in low tones, chucking the fuel rod cannons as he checked and double checked the weapons he had on him.

"A few jackals. Possibly drones. Definately Brutes." The Arbiter replied, scoping out their surroundings as he spoke.

"Not just any Brutes. This is Raido's crew." Drajha-Lee stated in low undertones.

_--Hmm, sounds like a friendly guy.-- _Cortana said dryly.

"Raido?" Master Chief's brow was raised, though no one but Cortana knew.

"Massive Brute Chief. If this war could have been won by brute strength alone, he would be standing victor." The golden Sanghelli said in firm tones.

"Smarter than your average Brute as well." The Arbiter commented off-handedly.

_--Why do we always get ourselves in these situations?-- _Cortana sighed audibly, --_Can't we simply get a normal enemy for once? Not a horde. Not a smarter-than-average bulldozer. Normal.--_

"Spartans weren't made for that." Glancing around, Master Chief ducked his head as he hissed, "The plan. Now."

"I say we lure all the Brutes out. Cripple their offensive and defensive power. And take out the underfoot jackals as well." The Arbiter crouched lower, the grip on his carbine tightening.

Rustling can be heard. And aggravated roars. The Brutes felt no need to be quiet. Stealth wasn't their strongest suit, after all.

"Fight them. Distract them. And have someone enter the ship and disable whatever is blocking our power core." The tone the golden Sanghelli said this in was not to be argued with. Unless you were the Chief.

"I have a better idea. Why not take both ships?"

Drajha-Lee gave him a look, "Are you mad? That would require destroying most, if not all, their forces. Both warriors and technicians."

"I believe it is a good plan." The Arbiter commented, an eager gleam in his eye.

"No time to argue. Enemy at three o'clock." Cortana reminded the Chief who he was talking to and he quickly remedied his mistake, "I mean, er-enemy to our right."

;-;

The Brutes knew they were here. They had seen them come in. But not a sound could be heard.

"Damn cowards." Raido grumbled under his breath. Aiming randomly, he fired off, "Show yourselves!"

Being a good fighter was a combination of many things. Speed. Strength. Balance. Reflexes and more. But sometimes, luck would turn on you. That is what Ghlariknee realized as he found one of his Sanghelli comrades suddenly dead beside him. The Brute's shot had killed him clean through the skull. Enraged, the red Sanghelli raised his carbine and fired.

More shots rang out from both sides. The battle had begun.

_--You know, the Elite leader never mentioned WHO exactly would be the one to go inside the ship.--_

"I would appreciate it" -the Chief punctuated this with two shots through two unguarded jackals' heads- "if you would quit" -he rolled out of the way from enemy fire, ducked behind a bush, and fired a few well placed shots of his own- "talking to me-"

_--When you're fighting. I know, I know.-- _Cortana finished for him as the Spartan continued with his killing spree.

That must have been the millionth time he had said that. And it wasn't that the A.I. hadn't heard. It was just she CHOSE to ignore it. She had saved his butt a couple of times, after all, with her 'damn irritating' talking, as the Chief would sometimes call it.

After a couple moments of dodging, firing, and tossing a few grenades, the Chief stopped by a dead enemy's body to scavenge useful items of death and destruction as he stated wryly, "I'm guessing you're suggesting I take care of it."

_--You ALWAYS take care of it, Chief.--_

"So what's the point in asking?"

_--Eh, just had to make sure. I do notice you becoming more lazy of the late. Being stranded on the flood ridden High Charity comes to mind.--_

Slightly irked, the Spartan said defensively, "Hey, I was not being lazy. My timing has been off a couple of times."

He jerked his weapon and fired over his shoulder.

_--You COULD have shot him a few milliseconds earlier, Chief. Admit it. You're getting slow.--_

"What?" Master Chief demanded, picking up dropped carbine ammo and stashing it.

_--It comes with age, Chief. You gotta learn to deal.--_

Now his speed was something he could work on. This, on the other hand, was a touchy subject. He replied gruffly, "I am NOT old."

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted a certain cobalt warrior head for the Covenant cruiser.

_--Yupp. Getting old. There's the proof right there. The Arbiter is taking your job.--_

"He is not-" The Chief stopped himself from falling into an argument with Cortana. Arguments, he hated to admit, that she would usually win at. Taking a deep breath, the Spartan said instead, "He is supposed to be as good as I am."

_--Maybe a little bit better.--_

That got the Chief going. He was after the Arbiter like there was no battlefield between them. Despite his near sonic boosts of speed, Master Chief realized he should keep the attack on the Covenant ship below radar, meaning he only allowed himself to be seen fleetingly. Kill and run. Hide. Kill and run. That was the basic pattern.

Unaware of the green armored warrior rushing towards him, the Arbiter continued sneaking his way onto the ship. They were smart enough to leave a barricade at least. Though it was a rushed and pitiful one at that since it consisted mainly of jackals.

_The Brutes must have been more eager to kill the Demon than we anticipated_, The Sanghelli thought to himself with a grin.

The shields were one thing. But the jackals' attention were focused mainly at the battle before them. Did they not realize an enemy could sneak up to them from behind. The Arbiter shook his head disapprovingly over the dead bodies he laid to waste beneath him. Few, if any of the Brutes within the threshhold of battle, even seemed to notice.

"This is pitiful. What have the Covenant come to?" The Arbiter muttered to himself.

"Just be glad you're not one of 'em anymore." The Spartan grinned as he found the Arbiter's carbine whirled to his face in surprise, "Or you just may have died right then."

"Demon. What are you doing here?" The Arbiter asked.

--Isn't it obvious?--

"You can return to the battle. I have this covered." The Chief jerked his head back to the depths of the forest.

Shouts, firing, and explosions could be heard.

"Not a chance."

Together, they entered the ship.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Master Chief himself couldn't convince you I own Halo.

--------------

The corridors were anything but dim. The pinkish purple of the walls resonated, reminding the Spartan of a living organism. In his hands he held two plasma pistols. The quick charges as well as the option of holding the trigger for a more powerful blast made the weapons a good choice. Especially against shield weilding covenant such as the jackals.

"How will we find where they keep the... uh..."

"Jamming device?" Master Chief put in.

The Arbiter nodded, his eyes glued ahead for possible enemies. Scratch that. For the enemies that were definately in the ship somewhere.

_--That is where I come in.-- _Cortana said smugly.

"Yeah, as soon as I find a Covenant console to hack you into." The Spartan replied, though a bit snappishly. Only Cortana would notice, though. Having practically lived in his head for a couple years now.

_--Aww, still upset about the whole me calling you old thing?--_

The Chief didn't even bother to reply, ignoring the questioning gaze the Arbiter shot back at him.

Shaking his head at the little dispute between the A.I. construct and the Demon, the Arbiter turned to more relevant things at hand, "So the construct can hack into the Covenant system? Defeat their own A.I.'s?"

Cortana tried not to sound offended. _--Me? Not defeat these outdated, stolen A.I. wannabees?-- _Okay, so she failed miserably. She didn't even try. Whatever.

The Chief couldn't help the smirk that appeared at her tone. Something Cortana did not miss, _--Hey, don't get that smug look with me, mister.--_

Arbiter and the Demon froze. The Chief noticed red in his HUD motion tracking device. The Sanghelli sensed their presence. Enemies. Closing in.

;-;

Raido was irritated. He was more than irritated. He smashed two Renegades in the head recklessly he was so mad.

WHERE was the Demon? He did not imagine the armored figure fire fuel rod cannons at their ship. The Brute was nowhere near creative enough to come up with such a fantasy. One where he would crush the Demon within his very own grasp. Gain more recognition for such an incredible feat. How could he achieve glory and fame if the Demon wasn't here to accept his own death and defeat at Raido's hands?

Scanning the stretched battlefield, the Brute didn't notice an angered blue Sanghelli rush him. A foolish move. The Brute lowered his Brute shot and charged, swiping the Sanghelli away like he was a dust mite in the passing breeze.

"Where is he!" The Brute demanded as he blew a grunt away.

;-;

Ghlariknee looked up at the angered Brute. But then again, when WEREN'T Brutes angry? Personally, the red Sanghelli didn't believe them to be more than big piles of rocks with a pebble for a brain. No, actually, maybe a small speck of dirt. But this one had a reasonably sized pebble for a brain. It was Raido. The Sanghelli could recognize him by the cross scar marring the whole left side of his face. It made one of his beedy eyes a shocking white in comparison to his shaggy gray fur and other ebony shot eye.

But a Brute suddenly in front of the Sanghelli garnered his attention, and he turned so he could spring away. A Brute shot sailed millimeters by his head, exploding in the air. WHAM. Ghalriknee sprawled on the ground, his ears ringing. Instincts kicked in and he raised his carbine to fire in front of him. Several times. The Brute grunted in pain, too shocked and slow to dodge. He died on the spot.

Rolling, Ghlariknee barely escaped being pinned by the now dead Brute's body as it toppled over. Collecting a few plasma grenades, the Sanghelli pushed off from the ground, primed for battle.

;-;

Master Chief barely took a moment to admire the blue and purple splatters decorating the hall. He shifted his gaze as he noticed the Arbiter waving him over. The Sanghelli pointed to a panel with a projected holographic screen above it.

"I believe this is what you require." The Sanghelli stated.

The Spartan nodded, mentally focusing on Cortana.

_--Ready.--_

He popped her chip out of the helmet and stuck it into the console's slot without a second thought. Time was precious. The sooner she found what they were looking for, the sooner they could free the other ship. Then all they had to do was defeat all of the Covenant forces. Simple.

_--Hmm... I'm in. It's a bit bigger in here. Not as cramped as in your suit-- _Cortana teased.

"Then why don't you think about taking permanent residence in there?" The Chief countered.

_--Getting back to the mission.-- _The A.I. said quickly,_ --Scanning. Aha. There's the Covenant A.I. Sort of clumsy. Hehe, I could run circles around this one. 400,000,000 times at least.--_

"Cortana..." The Chief stressed their shortness of time in those three syllables.

_--Right.-- _The construct was silent for a few moments.

The moments stretched out longer. The Spartan was getting worried. Even the Arbiter seemed to fidget as he stood guard, looking in all directions at once. Not literally, of course. That would just be creepy.

_--Chief... We got a problem.--_

Damn. The four words he dreaded the most.

But for the moment, it would have to wait as a small unit of jackals stumbled into them. Four were shot down, thanks to the Arbiter, before they knew what hit them.

"Cortana. I need to pull you out." Master Chief said, his tone even.

_--Hold on a sec.--_

Dropping to his knee, the Chief returned fire as the jackals recovered from their initial shock. He refused to give up his ground. If he did, he might not be able to get back to Cortana.

"_Cortana_."

_--Yank me.--_

The Spartan did so gladly, popping the chip back into the helmet. Even as he felt the familiar soothing cool of her sliding back around him, the Spartan was diving from the corridor, the Arbiter not too far behind. The explosion of a plasma grenade sounded off mere moments afterwards. As the blast cleared and the Arbiter popped his head back in the corridor, they realized the jackals had been taken care of.

Turning back to the Demon, the Sanghelli inquired, "Where is it?"

_--I don't think that's the biggest of our worries right now...--_

"Get to the point." The Chief was always so direct.

Then again, the construct was used to it, _--This planet. We shouldn't stay too long. The inhabitants aren't known to be very friendly.--_

"All the more reason to find the jamming device and destroy it." The Chief replied.

"Easier said than done." The Arbiter said aloud.

;-;

Outside, the battle waged on. Explosions, shooting, shouting, and everything. Except a new element suddenly descended. A sort of hazy yellow mist descended on the battlefield, creeping forward with wispy ghostlike fingers.

Simultaneously, everyone on the battlefield seemed to stop. Ghlariknee, in the middle of trouncing an unfortunate Brute, paused with carbine in hand and stared around. Even the Brute that was getting his ass beat froze from the sudden chill that ran up and down his spine. What was this mist? Where had it come from? And most of all, was it safe to breath? Those were the questions that ran through every Renegade warriors' mind, having been trained to be constantly aware and alert of their surroundings. The Covenant forces, on the other hand, were simply thinking: _'What the hell!'_

Raido growled as the mist thickened. It hindered all visibility. And the particles brushing by felt warm, so any heat-derived tracking sensors wouldn't work either. Likewise, the other Brutes growled their frustration while the jackals began a slow retreat back to the ship. The Renegades, on the other hand, stood their ground. Even the grunts opted it a better decision to just stay where they were, near their Sanghelli comrades, as they waited.

A jackal at the edge of the fray jerked his shield and plasma gun to face where he had spotted sudden movement.

Was there something hidden in the mist...?


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: Halo's kickass characters are owned by Bungie.

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No one ever saw what happened. There were screams. Wild shots fired. But no one could see anything.

Ghlariknee's grip on his carbine tightened, his stance crouching even lower. The Sanghelli's defensive senses heightened. A shout was heard relatively near his position. Adrenaline pumping, Ghlariknee jerked quickly towards that direction. But he was aiming blindly. The mist covered up everything. Even the Brute he knew should be just beneath his crouched figure was invisible to him.

Said Brute chose that moment to retaliate. Lunging forward, he swiped the red Sanghelli off his feet as he pulled himself up. The Covenant was jeering gleefully at his small victory, turning down towards where he heard the Sanghelli groaning in pain. The Brute raised his brute shot above his head, a war cry rolling off his tongue.

Ghalriknee grimaced. '_Get up. GET UP!' _His inner voice shouted at his body. The Brute was gonna kill him. He HAD to get up.

But when the Covenant had rammed the Sanghelli off his feet, his head had banged against a rock. His brow was split, blood pouring down one side of his face. Everything was a bit hazy through the pain the blow had given, the vision out of one of his eyes tinted purple.

The red Elite blinked painfully above him, the sound of the Brute crying out finally registering. He tensed, preparing to roll out of the way if needed. But suddenly, the sound of the Brute changed from one of victorious rage to one of paralyzing fear. The Sanghelli froze himself, instincts shouting at him to lay still. Not a breath later, something glided centimeters above him, a sickening 'splurtch' heard as the Brute was ran through with something and carried off. The Covenant's still warm blood splattered over Ghlariknee. But the Sanghelli barely flinched.

Despite the chill of his narrow escape from death, Ghlariknee still felt his heart thumping beneath his protective red armor. A sound he now feared might alert whatever hid in the mist to his presence.

;-;

The Arbiter stretched his arm out beside him, effectively stopping Master Chief as his chest armor ran into the outstretched limb. Slightly annoyed at the sudden halt, the Chief turned a questioning gaze towards the cobalt Sanghelli, trying to ignore the A.I.'s whispered voice inside his head.

_(--Now, when I had said old before. I didn't mean OLD old. Just, like, you know... old. How else could you explain the way- --)_

They had already retrieved the jamming device with, surprisingly, little effort. The Arbiter had scoffed when he realized the Covenant hadn't even bothered to assign guards to it. Unfortunately, the process that was required to disable it would take a whole two hours at least. Time they didn't have. Which is why the Chief suddenly found himself cradling the foot long machinary in one hand, a plasma rifle in the other.

Cortana stopped the one-sided conversation when she noticed, simultaneously with the Spartan, the reason the Arbiter had stopped them. Down the ramp and stretched over their entire vision was a thick yellow mist. Within the mist they could hear bouts of fearful screams and wild shots. The Chief tilted his head an inch to the side as a blind shot passed where his head had been, the only visible remaints of it blackened and smoking against the hull.

_--Okay, THAT... was a bit close.-- _Cortana commented aloud, her tone disapproving.

"Well, maybe next time someone should just stop talking." The Chief said nonchalantly.

Irked that the Chief didn't even seem to care, a frown could be emanating from the A.I.'s voice, _--Did you just tell me to shut up?--_

"I am." The Arbiter cut off whatever Master Chief had been about to say, trying to get the quarreling warrior's attention, "There is something in the mist. My people are getting _slaughtered _out there."

"Is this what you were trying to warn us about?" Master Chief demanded.

_--...well, uh... sort of...-- _The A.I. answered, sounding almost reluctant.

"What are their strengths? Their weaknesses?" The Arbiter asked quickly, wanting to know that they could be taken down.

_--Unknown.-- _Cortana replied as she shifted at lightspeed through the newly acquired information, _--The only relevent bit of data I can scrounge is simply that they should be avoided.--_

"Then why did you sound so panicked earlier?" The Spartan questioned, inattentively following as the cobalt Sanghelli plunged headfirst into the mist.

_--All I could retrieve, before I just HAD to pull out, was that they were extremely dangerous.-- _Master Chief listened with half an ear while the other one and a half focused on following the Arbiter's steps before him and the blind battle waged around them. Was it possible to listen with half an ear? Apparently, the Chief didn't care if it was or wasn't. _--All grunts, jackals, and drones that ever crossed their path were instantly killed in cold blood. Retaliation was evident in most cases, but futile.--_

"Did the Covenant not have Elites with them when they encountered these creatures?" The Chief asked, brow quirked. He didn't find a need to fear the creatures just 'cause they could easily slaughter the smaller of the Covenant forces.

Sensing his doubt, Cortana clarified, _--The creatures slaughtered huge GROUPS of grunts, jackals, and drones.--_ This new information made the Chief raise his brow higher, though in a more surprised manner. Huge groups of the little annoying Covenants were always a bit difficult to kill. Cortana continued, _--And about the Elites, the Covenant DID have them on their forces. But in every encounter with the creatures, all that would be left were mutilated corpses of the Covenant's smaller sized allies. While the bodies of the Elites... well, THEIR bodies were never found. A battle called the ship that had scoped out this planet, not giving them the time or higher motive to simply glass the planet. Instead, they classified this planet as one of the 'Untouchables'.--_

Catching that snippet of the conversation, the Arbiter threw over his head, "I've heard of that encounter."

"As have I." Drajha-Lee commented, stepping closer to the approaching warriors. He held still as both the Arbiter and the Demon aimed at him out of reflex, their forms barely outlined in the mist. Once they registered he was an ally, the golden Sanghelli continued, "That is the reason for my hesitation earlier."

"Leader," the Arbiter greeted, senses still tuned to the battle around them, "it is good to know you are still safe."

"The battle still wages." Drajha-Lee commented, though he still clasped the cobalt Sanghelli's forearm in warm greeting.

Shifting his hold on the jamming device, the Demon said, "Mission accomplished." With a sidelong glance at the Arbiter, the green armored warrior added, "Mostly."

A screaming grunt running towards them caught their attention.

"It's coming! It's coming! IT'S-" The grunt's loud shrieks were abruptly cut off, its slightly visible form quickly guttered and left for dead by a flit of shadows.

Master Chief cursed. Drajha-Lee stiffened. The Arbiter tensed. They hadn't seen the thing. Hadn't even felt its presence. But they all knew it wasn't something to be trifled with.

;-;

It was a good long while before Ghlariknee was able to pull himself to his feet. Grabbing the dropped brute shot, the Sanghelli tried hard not to think of what just happened as he weaved his way towards the direction he believed their ship was.

He stumbled. The brute shot slipped from his grasp the third or fourth time he tripped, landing heavily on the ground. If his reflexes hadn't pulled his arms out to catch himself, Ghlariknee would have suffered from a few bruises. Cursing at the realization that he was unarmed, the red armored Sanghelli jerked his head around to glare at whatever had caused him to trip. It was a grunt. He opened his mouth to growl a few choice words before he realized something else.

The grunt was dead.

Eyes widened slightly, Ghlariknee jerked himself to his feet, even as he berated, _'Get a hold of yourself, Ghlariknee.' _It wasn't as if he hadn't seen a dead comrade before.

Clenching his teeth, the red armored Sanghelli swung his face to look forward. A surprised gasp came from him and he blanched.

In front of him, no more than two feet, was an inquisitive face. The yellow shade of its metallic skin allowed it to blend in with the mist easily, making it almost impossible to tell what shape the mist creature was. But its eyes...

It's eyes were a deep, blood red.

Something moved. Ghlariknee's eye twitched towards the movement, finding some sort of tail whipping out behind it. The only reason he could see that tail was because of the blood dripping slowly off it. Almost as if the creature had continuously skewered bodies with it. The Sanghelli shuddered at the thought. THAT must have been what sliced through the dead Brute from moments ago.

"By the gods..." Ghlariknee gasped, his eyes trailing back up to lock with those crimson eyes before him.

;-;

All three warriors jerked back towards the dead grunt as they heard something stumble over it.

Master Chief squinted. The mist was making it so hard to see.

'Is it an ally?' The Arbiter wondered, his brow creased into a frown.

Drajha-Lee was tense, counting the seconds.

If it was an enemy, it should be attacking any moment. But t was so hard to see in the mist.

The mist seemed almost to take a solid form, though the Renegades couldn't be sure it wasn't just their eyes tricking them. It was hard to see. So hard. They could make out a bloody appendage waving around. Was that a... tail?

"By the gods..." The voice of the one who tripped breathed out, though his form was obscured now, somehow.

"Ghlariknee!" Drajha-Lee recognized the voice instantly.

Said Sanghelli jerked his head. At the same time, something clicked in Master Chief's head. They could no longer make out the Sanghelli's form because SOMETHING had placed itself between them!

Words would take too long. Action was needed. NOW.

Soundlessly, Master Chief shoved the jamming device into a surprised Drajha-Lee's arms.

The Spartan darted forward at the same time the thing in the mist did. The Chief was fast. But the creature was in its element. And it was closer.

Ghlariknee gasped. The thing was fast. It was moving towards him and he was unarmed. But the red armored Sanghelli remembered how he had evaded the first one. He had been on the ground. So maybe... maybe the thing floated in the air? No time to think. Ghlariknee just dropped to the dirt.

It was a good thing, too. He felt the whoosh of air as something swooped past him. It had been so close his senses tingled. The eyes were gone.

Suddenly, something clasped on his arm. Ghlariknee froze. It had gotten him! How had it come back so fast! The Sanghelli tensed, ready to fight for his life. He would NOT end up skewered like that moronic Brute.

But before he could even land a punch, he was pulled to his feet.

"Let's move." Master Chief said, his face close to Ghlariknee's for a moment.

The Chief had to make sure it was an ally. Had to make sure he was okay. But first, he had to take him back to the safety of the group. It was a good thing the Spartan had taken charge because the moment Ghlariknee had seen who his rescuer was, his mind had blanked out on him. It was the Chief. The one who had almost...

"Are you armed?" The Chief growled, intent on getting them both to safety.

Ghlariknee shook his head to clear it. It was not a time to reminisc and think of such thoughts. He focused, instead, on the hand gripped on his arm. Focused on the tense back of the Demon before him. Focused on the fear to stay alive.

"No." Ghlariknee replied.

The Demon grunted, "Then stick close. Grab whatever weapon you see laying around."

Ghlariknee's eyes flicked to the Demon's hand. The hand that was STILL on his arm. He wasn't some CHILD to be led around from place to place. Ghlariknee frowned at this sudden thought. Who did the Demon think he was? The Sanghelli tugged his arm in an attempt to free himself, only to recieve a growl from the Demon before him. The growl sent shivers up and down the Sanghelli's spine and he immediately stopped trying to pull away.

"Do you wanna get lost?" Master Chief demanded.

Then Ghlariknee realized why the Demon was still holding his arm. If he took two steps away from the Demon, he probably would have lost track of him.

Glad that the Sanghelli wasn't going to make more trouble, the Chief focused on finding the group. Though they couldn't have been more than a few yards away, the Spartan was suddenly finding it difficult to find out where they were.

--Is someone lost?-- Cortana teased.

"No." The Chief snapped back, looking a bit around before adding resentfully, "..._Maybe_..."

The A.I. paused expectantly. But when the Chief didn't say anything else, Cortana sighed audibly, --Men, sheesh.-- In a louder tone, she exclaimed, --HEY! Arbiter! Drajha-Lee! Where are you guys?--

Somewhere to their left, they heard the welcome voice of the Sanghelli responded.

"We are here, Demon! Where did you go?"

"Is Ghlariknee safe?"

The Chief's expression contorted in troubled confusion. How had they gotten so sidetracked? The voices sounded... far away.

"This mist is too thick." Ghlariknee heard the Demon mutter beneath his breath before replying aloud, "Yeah, the Sanghelli's safe! We got sidetracked a bit! We're coming!"

Another tug from the Sanghelli made the Chief turn irritably towards Ghlariknee, "Would you cut it o-"

He was cut off immediately as Ghlariknee tugged the Demon forcefully to the ground. The eyes. They were back.

The moment the Sanghelli had noticed, his voice had shut down. He couldn't speak. He could barely breath. There was just something about those eyes that made him shiver uncontrollably. They were asking... no, they were DEMANDING something. They wanted something. And Ghlariknee had a feeling he would rather die than give it to them. But, of course, Ghlariknee didn't consider that an option.

So he had done the one thing he knew could save them. He pulled them both to the ground.

As the Chief was recovering from being pulled to the ground, he froze. NOW he noticed the creature. But by that time, he was already sweeping over them, missing once again. All thanks to the Sanghelli beside him.

The Spartan chastised himself harshly. How could he have been so ignorant in a battle!

(--Hey, lighten up.--) The A.I. told him in the voice only he could hear, (--Those things don't make much noise in this mist, if you haven't noticed.--)

'Yeah. But I have other senses that should have alerted me to that... THING'S presence.' The Chief replied gruffly in thought.

"It's coming back!" Ghlariknee hissed, catching sight of the eyes. Those eyes... they were ignoring the Chief beside him. They were... it was almost like... like they were LOCKED right onto Ghlariknee.

Raising his plasma rifles, the Chief fired dead on to the target. He held his breath.

But the body of the creature just... opened up. The plasma bolts passed harmlessly through the self-made holes before the creature continued on its course. It hadn't even stopped. The Demon blinked. The plasma hadn't even phased it.

The Chief quickly ducked his head to the ground, his arms thrown protectively over it. They had remained on the ground, but he didn't want to chance losing a head or toe to carelessness. Likewise, Ghlariknee pressed himself as close to the ground as possible.

Once again, the thing passed over them. But beside him, Master Chief heard the Sanghelli gasp.

Ghlariknee couldn't help the surprised sound from escaping him. He turned his head to look behind him. Something was wrapped around his ankle. As it registered to his thoughts that it was the thing's tail, he was suddenly pulled backwards.

The thing was continuing on its path. And Ghlariknee was dragged along for the ride.


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I do not own halo.

-grins- heh, some of you reviewers are sharp. Constructive critism as well as bursts of pleasure are dually noted and appreciated.

-------------------

Master Chief blinked. Without even thinking, his arm whipped out to latch on to Ghlariknee's. For the moment, the Sanghelli was a comrade in arms. A soldier's life to save. But deep down the Spartan knew it was more than that. He OWED it to save Ghlariknee. He needed to make up for what he almost forced the other to do.

'I was not fully in control!' He raged in his own defense.

Just then, he hesitated a micro second too long. Ghlariknee's expression twisted to one of horror as he realized the Demon had missed. The Sanghelli let out a muted cry as he was dragged behind the creature in the mist.

"SHIT!" Master Chief cursed audibly, turning heads from several feet away.

--Focus, Chief.--

'I AM focusing!' The Chief's growled back as he sprung onto his feet, dashing after Ghlariknee. To say he did it with haste would be an understatement.

Ghlariknee could see the armored Demon giving chase. But he realized the creature was traveling much too fast to be caught easily. He had to slow it down somehow! Flexing his fingers, he slammed them down into the ground whizzing by a few inches below him. The ground was cold and hard and with the speed they were traveling, the reptilian-like skin at his fingertips began to tear painfully. Gritting his teeth, Ghlariknee forced his fingers to remain gouging deep into the tough hardened ground, ignoring the pain as much as he could. Pain he could handle. The fear he could not.

--The thing's too fast! We can't possibly catc- Wait... what is the Elite doing?--

Master Chief's eyes hardened as he saw exactly what the red Sanghelli was doing. He saw the claws dragging deep into the ground. He saw the pain in Ghlariknee's eyes. Quickening his pace, the Spartan growled, "He's slowing the thing down for us."

Noting the determination in his voice and the near impossible pace he set himself with, Cortana decided it wise to keep her mouth shut. With all the fighting and running and... well, basically trying NOT to die, everyone seemed to have forgotten what had happened in the Purification Chambers. At one point, she had felt a tremendous amount of anger. The Chief had effectively shut her up when he took the helmet off. But just because she hadn't been completely connected with him didn't mean she hadn't seen what happened.

To her knowledge, four people knew, herself excluded. Drajha-Lee, Arbiter, Master Chief, and Ghlariknee himself. With the attack, there hadn't been much of a chance for the news to spread. And now that she thought of it, Cortana wondered if they would LET the news spread beyond the four already involved. Cortana shook her head mentally. Now was NOT the time to be thinking about this. Later, when everything calmed down, she would talk to the Chief about it. She knew it must be killing him inside.

The Chief's breath was ragged. His legs pumping way faster than should have been physically possible. And STILL the thing was gaining distance. It was hard to see it in the mist. A spike of fear hit the Chief as he realized that soon he wouldn't be able to follow it at all.

Ghlariknee paled. He could barely see the Demon's figure now. His fingers were a bloody mess by now, but he didn't care. Numb, he found some smooth object run under his fingers. Before they could pass it, the Sanghelli instinctively made a grab for it, bringing it closer to his eyes to see what it was.

A Brute shot!

Unbelieving of his luck, Ghlariknee forced his fingers, numb and slick by the blood, to grip it tighter. He jerked his head to look at the thing holding him.

The creature was still unaware.

Not wasting another moment, Ghlariknee fired the Brute shot right through the beely of the beast. To his horror, he watched as the thing's physical form simply opened up like the mist itself and let the explosive ammo fly straight through it.

KaBAM! It exploded a few feet away.

Ghlariknee was getting dizzy. He knew he must've had a badly bleeding wound somewhere. Or maybe just a whole bunch of wounds leaking slowly.

But he was determined, 'I am NOT giving up.'

With an outward yell of defiance, the red Sanghelli squng the weapon, aiming its scyth-like blade at the creature's tail. The mist creature jerked, giving a surprised cry as the blade sliced cleanly through its tail. Ghlariknee gaped, still disbelieving what had just happened. The next moment the Sanghelli tumbled head over heels, jarring his bruised body and weary mind even more. But at least he was free.

Clutching his head with one hand and the Brute shot with another, Ghlariknee just lay there, trying to gather what strength he had elft to stand and defend himself. It was so... hard. It was hard just to breath. How could he possibly get up and fight?

'Because... I have to.' Ghlariknee thought, jaw clenched, as he struggled to a sitting position.

It was coming back.

It was coming back and Ghlariknee hadn't managed to gather the strength he needed to stand.

'I can't fight that thing. What am I thinking?' The Sanghelli frowned, 'Nothing really hurt it, except...' He turned his gaze to the weapon at hand, 'Was it just a fluke? Would it work again?' He started to raise the Brute weapon, his gaze also raising to lock onto the crimson red of the creature. It was unnerving how those orbs were the only thing he could distinguish of the creature's form. Yet as it was moving he could see it owned a mostly humanoid figure, with the exception of a tail. That's when the tip of the tail, the one he had cut off, attacked.

"Gah!" Ghlariknee yelped in fear and disgust, throwing what the thing had latched onto as a reflex. The Sanghelli's eyes widened.

He had thrown the Brute shot.

And the thing was still coming at him.

It was fast.

Ghlariknee's startled gaze flickered to the piece of tail as it launched another attack. Backpedalling as fast as he could, the Sanghelli's arm collapsed under him from the sudden stress put on it. The creature still charged. But the tail was closer. The Sanghelli flinched, his eyes shut.

SQUISH.

Two realizations came to the Elite at once. One, was that the tail hadn't attacked. And the second, was that he wasn't alone.

Something was standing before him. Ghlariknee's eyes flew open, jerking away from the presence.

It was the Demon.

Master Chief frowned at the state he found the Elite in. The Sanghelli seemed to be running on pure adrenaline, if the Sanghelli had adrenaline. He watched as the Sanghelli's wide eyes flicked from the Chief to the wiggling body part he had deliberately squished under his armored feet. Comprehension slowly unfogged the Sanghelli's eyes. Reassured that the Elite was okay for now, the Spartan spun on his feet, a growl on his lips.

The Thing was coming. And the Spartan placed himself directly between the mist creature and Ghlariknee.

"I won't let him get you." The Chief stated, his voice and intent clear, his body deceptively calm.

Cortana knew not to mess with him when he got like this. But she had never seen him so protective of another being before, especially a fellow warrior. Sure he always made sure his team pulled through, but he never had gotten so gung-ho about it and all.

'Curious...' The A.I. thought to herself.

The thing rushed at the Chief, murder in its blazing eyes. But the Spartan stood his ground, unmoving. Until the last second, that is.

;-;

"Where ARE they?" Drajha-Lee exclaimed, looking deeply into the mist on all sides.

Arbiter frowned thoughtfully, looking back at the large huddle of Renegades they had managed to gather up. Near the middle, a very nervous looking grunt was holding the jamming device, clinging to it as if his very life depended on it. And from the way the Arbiter had explained the task to him, it did.

"The Demon should have made it back by now." Drajha-Lee commented aloud, his worry evident though it was barely detectable in his voice. He turned towards the Arbiter as he saw the cobalt Sanghelli fidget with his weapon, "That Sanghelli in the mist, who was it, Arbiter?"

Clenching his teeth, the Arbiter looked away, "I... am not sure."

He prayed to the gods it hadn't been Ghlariknee. If it was...

Could the Demon be trusted with the Sanghelli's life?

;-;

Deathly silent, Master Chief clashed with the mist creature head on. It was the first time he felt the chill of its solid form. He wondered how the Sanghelli had been able to stand its grip on his ankle, before remembering the Elite hadn't had a choice in the matter. Apparently the creature could consciously choose when to be physical and when to be solid. It was information he was sure to record and store away for later. And this time it had decided not to dematerialize.

That was unfortunate. For the creature.

Whipping up the Brute shot Ghlariknee had flung, the Spartan ripped it brutally through the creature's body. Mercy never crossed his mind as he remembered seeing mutilated corpses of the Grunts. As he remembered laying eyes on the bruised and battered Ghlariknee. It had HURT Ghlariknee. The creature didn't deserve mercy.

But the thing was too fast. It quickly darted back, but not before leaving a parting gift with the Chief.

The Spartan blinked, looking down at his chest as he staggered back. Ghlariknee was confused. He had seen the near fatal slash the Demonhad inflicted on the creature, but where was the Demon hurt? The armor was still fully intact.

--It... bypassed the armor...-- Cortana gasped, forming words to the unbelievable realization.

Master Chief gagged, resisting the urge to throw up inside the armor. Already, he could feel the suit and Cortana working furiously to put pressure on the cold numbness he felt spreading across his torso.

"How bad?" The Chief asked, his voice hitched at a sudden attack of nausea. Already he was falling back into a defensice stance. The mist creature was no where to be seen. But the Chief knew it was out there. Waiting. Watching.

--Chief... I wouldn't recomment fighting.-- Cortana said in a worried tone, already knowing the stubborn Spartan wouldn't follow her advice.

"Not as if we have a choice." Master Chief grunted.

With a groan, Ghlariknee tried getting toh is feet, only to collapse back on the ground with a pained cry. The Chief wanted to just forget about the creature and kneel at the wounded Sanghelli's side. But that would leave him vulnerable to attack. Master Chief also had a strange feeling the quick movement would further irritate his suddenly muscle clenching queasiness in his stomach.

"Don't move." The Demon said, throwing a quick glance behind him, checking on the Elite.

"You... do not have to... do this..." Ghlariknee said through deep breaths. Something was definately broken. And there was bleeding. Gritting his teeth, the Sanghelli continued, "Just leave... get help... I'll manage."

The Spartan grimaced. There was so much blood on the Sanghelli. He hoped that half the amount splattered across the warrior's skin didn't belong to the wounded Elite before him.

"Yes, I do. And no, I won't and you won't."

The creature attacked again. The Chief was ready, and more than willing, to face it. He wouldn't let his new allies down. He wouldn't be defeated. And he wouldn't... wouldn't let the Sanghelli be hurt and frightened again. Ever.

Unfortunately, the creature had other plans.

After a few more lightening fast clashes, the creature slowly retreated, one of its limbs barely intact. As soon as the percieved threat was far away enough, the Chief allowed himself to drop down to one knee, drawing in pain-wracked breaths for his weary and torn body. His left arm hung limply from its socket. And despite the numerous wounds, his armor remained strangely untouched.

Ghlariknee eyed him worriedly.

'Why does he try so hard?' The Sanghelli was troubled. Confused. He voiced his thoughts aloud, "Why... why are you doing this?"

"Won't..." The Demon clenched his jaw as a wave of pain crashed through him. Regaining composure, he turned his visor-covered eyes to the Sanghelli's, "I won't let it hurt you."

It was coming again.

Master Chief struggled to his feet.

"Demon... DON'T." Ghlariknee exhaled, picking himself gingerly to his feet.

The Demon planted his feet, back squarely facing the Elite.

'He is... protecting me.' The realization hit the Sanghelli hard. He floundered. What was he to think? To do? The Demon was an ally now, right? So then why did this sort of protectiveness feel more... personal?

;-;

From behind the Renegades, they heard a large figure lumbering up. They all tensed, the edges of the circle training their weapons on the dark form barely seen through the mist.

Stepping forward, Drajha-Lee instantly took charge of the situation, "Who are you? Show yourself."

With a low, deep grumble, the form finally stepped within their vision, the mist swirling from his large armored body.

The Renegades gaped in surprise.

;-;

--Chief, we can't take much more of this.--

"Don't you think I know that?" Master Chief snapped in reply, his eyes locked with the crimson orbs coming steadily closer.

He took a step forward. But his leg failed him and he dropped forward to his knees, only keeping from falling flat on his face by a trembling hand.

"Demon!" Ghlariknee gasped.

The thing was coming and both were helpless to stop it.


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: Halo stuff and original characters not owned by me.

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The first thing both Master Chief and Ghlariknee noticed was the rumble along the ground. A dull, rythmic THUD. THUD.

The thing was still headed for them. But something else was approaching all three of them. Someone still hidden by the mist. And that someone was BIG.

With a forced, pained grunt, the Chief pulled himself to his feet by his will alone. The pain tore at him, his muscles screaming in agony. His vision was spotted with red from his pain-induced state. One arm dislocated. A leg barely holding itself together. Breathing seemed more trouble than it was worth. But with a mental wave of his arm, the Spartan pushed all of it aside as he took a defensive stance.

Behind him, Ghlariknee squared his mandibles. He was touched by the Demon's comraderie. Truly. But he would not be able to live with himself if he chose to face a battle hiding behind the Demon all day. Besides, the Chief looked worse than him, even if the outward countenance of his armor did not really show it.

As the red-armored Sanghelli stepped forward beside him, Master Chief acknowledged the act with the barest of nods. He had neither the time, nor the extra will, to argue with the Elite right now. Gritting his teeth, the Spartan raised the Brute Shot.

The mist creature was almost upon them.

Suddenly a hum could be heard in the air. As both Ghlariknee and Master Chief turned their heads to a spot of rapidly growing green light, the Sanghelli gaped, "I KNOW that sound..."

A few things happened at once.

The mist creature attacked. The plasma cannon, fully charged, fired. John's eyes widened within his visor.

Dropping the Brute shot, he grabbed the Sanghelli's shoulders, explaining hastely, "We're too close!"

With a desperate, powerful lunge, the Chief launched both himself and Ghlariknee as far away as they could get. The creature swiped at where they had once been, turning in slow motion to the blast coming towards it. The continuous green beam was too large. Too fast.

Screeching in defiance, the mist creature was enveloped in the beam and incinerated on the spot. Instantaneously, the yellow mist dispersed.

All this had happened before Master Chief and Ghlariknee could drop to the ground. Twisting in the air, what the Chief normally would have turned into a well placed tumble turned into a flat out fall on his back. As the fall jarred his many wounds, the Chief clenched his jaw and reminded himself it was better than further injuring the Sanghelli. He had done his fair share of harm already, as it was.

(--How long will you beat yourself up about this?--) Cortana asked, her tone lowered to a whisper only the Chief could hear.

No doubt the Spartan deserved some sort of punishment for his accidental crime, but a perpetual beatdown of his own conscious self would not help ANYONE in the long run.

'...Shut...up...' The Chief spouted immaturely back, before promptly blacking out.

"Demon...?" Ghlariknee called out as he felt the body below him still. He could still feel the Demon breathing though, so the Sanghelli wasn't too worried.

With a groan of pain, the red Sanghelli craned his neck upwards to catch a glimpse of their savior.

THUD. THUD.

With a pained grimace, Ghlariknee greeted, "Hello... Lum." That said, the Elite let himself drift to unconsciousness as well.

Cocking his head curiously, the Hunter just stared at the two figures for a moment. Figuring they were in need of some assistance, Lum turned his head and trilled out to the group of Renegades a couple hundred yards away.

Pushing past a couple of his comrades, the Arbiter made his way swiftly to the lumbering Hunter. There, at the muscled warrior's feet, were Ghlariknee and the Demon. Both were slumped over, unconscious. Giving them a quick, cursory glance, the cobalt Sanghelli quickly spoke into his communicator, "Medic! You are needed in the field, immediately."

He was anxious. He wanted to know what happened. And why the Demon seemed just as hurt as the blood streaked Ghlariknee, without a single wound to show for it.

Arbiter sighed and shook his head. He would get his answers later. Right now, he just wanted to make sure someone would be alive to give them to him.

;-;

"The Covenant took refuge within their ship the moment the mist dissapated." The golden Sanghelli stated.

"Do they wish to fight?" The Arbiter demanded, eager for someone to pay the price of the blood that had been spilled that day.

"No."

"Is it a truce they want?" The Arbiter's gaze narrowed.

"That is... possible." Drajha-Lee replied, pacing away, his hands clasped behind his back.

They both paused as the bridge to the door swooshed open, arguing voices immediately spilling into the room.

"You have not yet healed, O mighty Demon!" The voice of a grunt squealed in its whiny tone, "You should return to-"

"Enough." The Demon silenced him with a downward swipe of his arm. Catching sight of the two Elite, the Chief stalked into the room, "What's our status?"

"Demon." The Arbiter greeted with a bob of his head.

"Arbiter." The Chief returned, his tone matching the Sanghelli's dead on. Their tones had been calm, yet tense at the same time. Conflicted.

Drajha-Lee noted this, but decided to disregard it as he pointed out, "I was under the belief that your wounds were extensive. That it would take hours, if not days to recooperate."

"I heal fast." Was all the Chief said, feeling a sense of dejavu over the argument.

"In that case, I shall head straight to the point." Drajha-Lee replied, not missing a beat as he turned and paced once more, "The Brutes have called a truce of sorts. They do not fire at us and we hold fire on them. At least, until both parties have successfully withdrawn from the planet."

"What's to stop either of us from shooting the other out of the sky?" Master Chief asked roughly.

The golden Sanghelli paused in his pacing to look the Demon squarely in the eye, "Nothing."

--Well, now that all that is covered, what's stopping us from leaving right now?-- Cortana inquired.

The Arbiter crossed his arms over his chest, "Repairs. Our core requires maintenance after the strain the... the-"

"Jamming device." Master Chief interjected.

With a clenched nod of thanks, the Arbiter continued, "that the jamming device has done to it."

"And the Covenant vessel, apparently, is in need of repairs after both of your previous excursions within." The Sanghelli leader said with a wry smile.

--Ah, I could just hear their exclamations of thanks now.-- Cortana replied, a grin to her tone.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Master Chief asked.

"Yes, Demon." The Arbiter replied, clasping his shoulder, "Sit. Rest."

The tightened tone of his voice wasn't missed by the Chief. Brow cocked within his helmet, the Spartan inquired, "Is that all?"

With a nod, the cobalt Sanghelli waited for the Demon to sit before he continued, "I wish for you to recount what has happened in your battle."

"Yes," Drajha-Lee agreed, "we shall need all the information about these... mist creatures... that we can gather."

Master Chief shifted his gaze back to the Arbiter. He doubted this Sanghelli held the exact same interest as his leader dealing with what the Chief had to share. Shrugging, the Spartan recalled his tale.

;-;

Ghlariknee grimaced. He was lucky there had only been one grunt around to pester them while they were healing. And since the Demon was the first to get up early and leave, it was the Demon the grunt named Skurge had chosen to follow.

It was then the Sanghelli had made his stealthy escape.

Yeah. Stealthy. Right.

He felt like every third or fourth step he was stumbling over himself or walking straight into a wall. One time he had almost collapsed over a fellow Sanghelli. This one had been adorned in blue armor. Clearly young and clearly still as green as could be.

"S-should you be walking, f-fellow warrior, sir?" The blue Sanghelli had stuttered, stumbling over his words as badly as Ghlariknee seemed to be stumbling physically.

"I shall stop walking the day my legs fall off." Ghlariknee had mumbled back before continuing on, determined to reach his destination.

He ignored the look of awe and slightly tinged fear in the younger warrior's eyes.

Focusing on placing one clawed foot in front of the other, Ghlariknee was filled with relief at the sight of the huge double doors before him. If he remembered correctly, then this should be the room the bond brothers were staying.

Another step forward made the light arrays around the door blink green before they whooshed open.

The huge hunter inside, startled, was swift to turn around. He had even started to raise the cannon strapped on his arm in defense.

"Lum! It is only I, Ghlariknee. Your fellow warrior, remember?" Ghlariknee called out soothingly, fully aware of the state the Hunter was in.

Like the last time Ghlariknee had checked, Lum's bond brother was still locked in stasis. Trapped between life and death, the other Hunter clung to life with a small thread. His bond to his brother was strong and Lum would not give up on his life so easily.

Lowering the destructive weapon, Lum shuffled around and only grunted in response, turning his gaze back to the frozen Mul in the stasis chamber before him. Unlike some of the species the Covenant had gathered, the hunters were made up of a symbiosis of a couple lifeforms. Despite their giant bulk and immense strength, they lacked the vocal skills of most of their Renegade comrades. This did not stop them, however, from expressing themselves.

Ghlariknee was still unsure why the Hunters had joined their cause instead of remaining under the control of the Covenant, but he had given up on finding the reason long ago. He was just grateful the Renegades had the aid of such powerful beings.

"Your brother... he looks slightly better, Lum." Ghlariknee commented, his voice barely above a whisper.

The hunter turned to gaze at the Sanghelli, his head cocked a little to the side as he digested what Ghlariknee had just said. With a trill of satisfaction, the Hunter turned back to his brother. It was good that the Sanghelli had noticed it as well. It was hard to believe that only a couple days ago, Mul had been shuffling on his feet, healthy and strong beside his brother Lum. But a nasty encounter with an overwhelming amount of Parasites had changed all that.

"I came to thank you, Lum. Without you, I might not be standing here right now." Ghlariknee continued conversationally, though inside his words held so much more meaning.

The Hunter caught that meaning, and turned to fully face the Sanghelli. They remained staring at eachother for some time, the silence companiable though it was stringed with understanding. Blinking once, the Hunter bowed.

Without hesitation, Ghlariknee bowed back. When he came back up, he let out a relieved sigh. So it was done. He would remember well the debt he owed to the huge Hunter. The saving of a life could only be returned in one way. Through the heat of battle.

Grinning, the Sanghelli departed with the words, "May your brother return to good health." trailing over his shoulder.

Now he headed towards the bridge and whatever problems lay ahead.


	16. Then the Demon stumbled in

Disclaimer: I don't pretend to own Halo or Bungie's characters. I just pretend the storyline took a different route.

A/N: Haha, uhhh... the Chief made a big mistake here. Read with caution. There is a hint of lime, er lemon, or whatever. m/m.

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The truce would last however long it took for both ships to escape the planet. Unfortunately for both parties, their respective ships had much repairs that needed to be done. The air between the Renegade and Covenant became more and more strained as the hours passed.

The Brute leader slammed his fist on his armrest, eyes narrowed as he demanded, "WHAT?"

"I-I beg your pardon..." The quivering jackal squawked, "But... the damage the D-demon and Arbi-arbiter have done to-to the uh... the ship will require a whole day at least-"

"A WHOLE day!" Raido exclaimed, arm swiping out to knock the smaller Covenant off his feet and across the room.

Another jackal ducked as his comrade slammed into the wall behind him, sliding ungraciously to the floor.

"I can't stand another MINUTE of this TRUCE with those damnable RENEGADES!" Raido ranted, pushing off from his chair to pace angrily back and forth, "And the DEMON... death would be too easy for that one..."

;-;

Ghlariknee looked up, startled as the door to his cabin whooshed open.

Master Chief was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed as he stated, "We need to talk."

Stiff, Ghlariknee turned his back on the Demon as he returned to polishing his armor, "There is nothing to be talked about."

The red Sanghelli heard the door closed, but he had a feeling the Demon was still standing behind him. When it was clear the other would not leave, Ghlariknee sighed as he continued, "You were not in your right mind. The mist-"

"May have been the main problem, but I still feel as if I've done something horribly... wrong." Master Chief had taken a step forward, only to stop himself in his tracks as he saw Ghlariknee tense. The Sanghelli still did not trust him, not even after the battle. With a defeated sigh, the Spartan walked a few step backwards, not stopping until his back had made contact with the furthest wall.

Interpreting the Demon's movement accurately, Ghlariknee let out a defeated sigh of his own, "It is not... Demon, it is not that I blame you. It is simply that..." But the red Sanghelli could not bring himself to finish the sentence. Instead, his thoughts trailed out in his mind,_ 'It is simply that I wish...'_

Ghlariknee imagined the Demon's hands travelling over his skin. He shivered.

_'...that I wish...'_

He remembered how it felt when the Demon's mouth had been on his own. Hot. Demanding.

_'I wish to complete the Sacred Acts with you.'_

Ghlariknee blinked, startled, as the thought revealed itself to him. He had not felt such a need since... since the Arbiter had-

"Simply... what?" The Spartan asked, bothered by the silence and by the whole matter that he felt... so confused about.

Unlike all humans, the Spartan had never felt such a feeling as love or its companion... lust. The augmentations had ensured that he and all the rest of his Spartan comrades were never hindered by such feelings in the battlefield. They were to be objective. Obeying. They were to be the perfect soldiers.

Perfect soldiers led by... less than perfect leaders.

However, the event that had occurred in the Purification Chambers changed all that. He was starting to FEEL things. Things that he had never felt before. And he didn't know what to do about it.

_(--What's the plan, exactly?--) _Cortana whispered inquiringly.

_'To right my wrongs.' _Master Chief replied with his thoughts.

_(--And then what? What do you expect after you manage to get your apology out there?--)_

_'Uh... we'll see where it goes from there.'_

_(--...--)_

_'...what?'_

_(--That's IT? THAT'S the plan?--)_

Master Chief scowled as he heard the A.I.'s laughter fill his head. Why was she finding this so funny?_ 'It's not like this is an everyday occurance.' _He snapped.

Cortana was too busy laughing to get out a reply.

"It is simply..." Ghlariknee sighed, abandoning the polish and the armor in his hands. Wearily, he shifted on the edge of his bed, turning around to face the Demon in his room, "Look... why have you come here?"

"Well, you see... it's just that, uh..." Master Chief stumbled over his words. Damn, he just wasn't good with this sort of thing. The Spartan could face hordes of flood, Covenant, and even that strange mist creature. He could rush headlong into battle, defending comrades and country, without a single bat of an eye. But against matters dealing with... FEELINGS... he just didn't... he couldn't... he felt like he would never understand ANY of it. He was so nervous he even found himself scratching his head just to give his fiddling hands something to do.

And on top of all that, Ghlariknee was starting to give him a strange look. How long had the Chief not said anything?

_(--Say something, you big dolt.--) _Cortana gave him a mental kick for good measure.

"Shut up." The Spartan growled.

Ghlariknee raised a brow ridge, his look one of disbelief. The Demon... had come all the way over here... to say THAT?

Realizing what he had just said aloud, the Chief raised his hands apologetically, quickly saying, "No. No, not you. I'm uh, sorry. I was talking to Cortana with that last one."

Master Chief sighed, exasperrated. This was getting him nowhere.

Ghlariknee just sat there, waiting for an explanation. He was too befuddled by the recent events to really even try to wonder what the Chief was getting at. So he just waited.

Before an uncomfortable silence could settle, the door to Ghlariknee's room whooshed open once again.

"May I enter?" The Arbiter inquired, not hesitating after the red Sanghelli's nod of assent.

But the moment the cobalt Sanghelli caught sight of the Demon, he tensed. Eyes narrowing as he examined the situation, the Arbiter was reluctant to conclude that the Demon HADN'T been stirring up any trouble with Ghlariknee. So he attempted to erase any scorn from his voice as he demanded of the Demon, "What are YOU doing here."

Master Chief had stiffened the moment the Arbiter had entered, though he wasn't quite sure why.

(--Is it just me, or does he seem to not LIKE you?--) Cortana commented quietly, sarcasm filling her tone.

'I don't know who shoved a stick up his ass, but I sure as hell am not staying here if I have a choice.' Master Chief replied to her in thought, his eyes on the Arbiter the whole time.

"I was just leaving." Master Chief's tone was clipped as he made his way past the Arbiter.

"Wait, what were you going to tell me?" Ghlariknee asked, finding himself halfway across the room before he had realized he was standing.

Half- turning, the Chief replied, his tone devoid of the coldness that had filled it when he talked to the Arbiter, "I'll tell you later."

"Why not tell him now?" The Arbiter asked, draping an arm so he could lean casually against the doorway, effectively blocking the Spartan's escape route.

The Chief's eyes hardened as he glared at the cobalt Sanghelli. As much as he wanted to punch that smug look right off the Arbiter's face, the Chief knew that would be pushing his alliance with the Renegades just a bit. Besides, it wouldn't help any to get him on good terms with the red Sanghelli behind him.

Instead, without another word to either of the Sanghelli, the Spartan rudely shoved past the Arbiter and stalked down the hallway. The Sanghelli didn't say anything immediately after his exit, but he could feel their eyes burning into his back.

;-;

Master Chief found himself in the Renegades training room hours later, his breath ragged as he doggedly continued striking something that resembled a punching bag.

'Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.' He berated himself with each blow he delivered to the inanimate object.

Why hadn't he just said it. It's simple. Three little words.

I am sorry.

Maybe it was the fact that that simple apology would not be enough. What else could he do to make things right? He wished he could just rewind the fabric of time itself. Erase that moment. Redo it.

Right. Rewind time.

--Reality bites, doesn't it, Chief?--

The Spartan grunted in reply, brushing sweat off his forehead as he sprinted off towards the Renegade's obstacle course.

--Don't pretend you don't regret not telling him.-- Cortana said matter-of-factly.

"Don't try to lecture me." Master Chief growled lightly back, performing a series of twists and tumbles to get through the obstacle course's intricate curves.

--I'm JUST saying...--

The Spartan tried ignoring her. But his conscience wouldn't let him. Besides, his persistant recollection of the earlier events wouldn't allow him much concentration. After a while, the Spartan receded, "All right. ALL RIGHT. I'll go and try talking to him again."

--Don't try. DO.-- Cortana said, a smirk to her voice.

Perceiving that her good deed for the day was done, Cortana concentrated on organizing files that had become... messy since her absence.

In the meantime, the Chief was grumbling the whole way back to Ghlariknee's door. "I can't believe she talked me into this..." Were the last, muttered words out of his mouth before the door whooshed open.

And that is when the Spartan recieved one of the biggest shocks of his lifetime.

John wasn't sure what hit him first. The warmth of the room or the groans of the occupants within it. But nevertheless, his eyes only grew wider as his vision confirmed what his mind tried its hardest to deny.

There, tangled up in the sheets of Ghlariknee's bed, were the Arbiter and Ghlariknee himself. And they weren't having a slumber party...

"Nnngghhh..." Ghlariknee partially moaned, his naked sweat-drenched form pressed deep into the bed's covers.

The Arbiter was breathing hard, his arms trembling slightly as he held his torso mere inches from the younger Sanghelli's toned chest. With a grunt of effort, the cobalt Sanghelli flexed his thighs and shoved himself deep inside of Ghlariknee. The pleasure was so great neither of the two could hold back their gratified cries. The Arbiter wanted nothing more than to pound into Ghlariknee's tight little entrance. And truth be told, Ghlariknee wanted nothing else.

Master Chief stood rooted to the stop, jaw gaping as the two continued their heated acts, oblivious to his presence. He found that his mouth was suddenly dry and his throat seemed to be devoid of any moisture as well. As he continued staring at the sweat-slickened forms, all he could do was swallow. And he swallowed hard.

'I must be having a nightmare.' The Spartan thought to himself, wanting to bash his head to wake himself up. But somehow, he realized that would do nothing more than add another bruise to his sore body.

'Move.' He told his legs. But for some reason the message wasn't being sent to his muscles, 'MOVE.'

Just as they were reaching their peak, the Arbiter happened to glance up. His eyes, glazed with lust, locked with the Master Chief's. Once John realized the Sanghelli had recognized him, the Spartan figured the Arbiter would have somehow lost his drive and fall back into that glare that was reserved especially for him. But the Spartan couldn't have been more wrong.

Eyes widening as he noticed the Demon standing there, the Arbiter only had to think how he must have been watching the whole time and...

The Arbiter, filled with much astonishment, came harder than he had ever come before.

In an instant, Master Chief tore out of the room like the flood was on his heels. As the door whooshed shut behind him, the Chief halting to lean against the wall and start breathing again, the Spartan couldn't help but hear the heart-filled cries of sated pleasure. Had he just... Did he just...? But no. The Spartan must have been seeing things. The Arbiter hadn't actually been LOOKING at him as he came.

...Had he?

No. The Chief shook his head, trying to get his racing heart to slow down. But try as he might, he couldn't easily shake out the images of the sexual acts the two Sanghelli had been performing in there. And the Arbiter had LOOKED at hi-

'No.' The Spartan shook his head. The cobalt Sanghelli could NOT have been looking at him. The Master Chief had NOT just made the Arbiter come just by standing there. No. It was impossible. Both hated the others' guts.

"I did not just see that." The Chief said as he slowly, but surely, started to walk away, "Yes, that's it. It just... never happened. I didn't see ANYTHING."

When he was far away enough, the Spartan started sprinting. He needed to get back to the training room and work off all the tension he was suddenly feeling.

Strangely, Cortana remained silent.

;-;

As his breathing returned to near normal levels, the Arbiter felt Ghlariknee staring at him.

Turning to his lover, the Arbiter inquired softly, "What is it?"

"That's just what I was about to ask you."

"What do you mean?" The Arbiter replied, confused.

"What happened?" Ghlariknee asked, his voice murmuring.

The Arbiter returned with a smart quipp and a grin, "Why, the Sacred Acts, of course."

"No. What HAPPENED?" Ghlariknee pressed.

As he stared into the other's eyes, the Arbiter knew he could not lie. Not to Ghlariknee. He wasn't sure if he had EVER been able to lie to Ghlariknee. The other Sanghelli was just so...

'I can't... I just can't lie to him.' The Arbiter admitted to himself with a sigh.

"The... the Demon was here, while we were..." The Arbiter trailed off, knowing the repurcussions of the Demon's presence. But he could not lie.

"The Demon was HERE?" Ghlariknee's eyes widened, his arm enveloping the whole room with a wave as he continued, "WHILE we were... while we were in the middle of-"

Jaw set in a grim line, the Arbiter nodded.

He couldn't help remembering the exact moment he had noticed the Demon. It was while he was pounding deeper into Ghlariknee. For some odd reason, the Arbiter just KNEW the precise moment the Demon had entered. It had been right before the cobalt Sanghelli was about to enter the ever-ready Ghlariknee. And yet... he hadn't been deterred at all.

Rather, the Arbiter began to realize, he just may have been turned on even MORE. The Sanghelli frowned at that thought. How in the high heavens had the Arbiter been aroused by THAT fool? But the fact was that he had. And his... performance... with Ghlariknee had increased pleasurably because of it.

And Ghlariknee had noticed.

Smiling in sated passion, Ghlariknee drew the scowling Arbiter closer, smoothing the other's grim expression with a kiss.

Pulling away, Ghlariknee looked into the Arbiter's eyes, "You know what that means... right?"

With a sigh, the Arbiter replied reluctantly, "... Yes..."

He felt slightly disappointed. But at the same time, he felt an odd surge of excitement.

If only the Demon knew the repurcussions of his actions...


	17. Between a bench and a hard place

Disclaimer: Never have I once claimed I owned Halo and its characters. Except for this once. Haha, psyche. -rolls eyes and walks away, muttering-

A/N: I appreciate the support, reviewers. And I realize some may have strict morals or whatever against this sort of pairing. But that's why I warned you in the summary. And in the chapters with yaoi. Like this one. And, as strange as it may seem, I actually have the same birthday as Hitler. Odd, huh?

Yes, this chapter has has steamy male on male action. Or rather, males on male action.

-----------------------

Sweating, his head leaning against the wall in exhaustion as he sat on the bench, Master Chief finally confronted Cortana on her silence.

"This isn't normal, you know."

--...What... you and another ma---

"No." The Chief quickly interrupted, "You not talking."

--Oh,-- Cortana said grimly, and the Spartan could just see her crossing her arms, --You're always complaining about me talking and NOW you actually WANT me to?--

John stared blankly at the ceiling for a while before replying in his blunt, gruff voice, "... Well... yeah."

--Oh hoh,-- Cortana replied, her tone smug, --You think I'm gonna talk JUST 'cause you say so?--

Now, the Chief was normally a very smart man. He's survived battles some soldiers could never dream of being in, much less come out of alive. He could easily become a great strategist if he so desired. And he usually... USUALLY... knew the right thing to say, no matter how short his phrases turned out to be.

This... was not one of those occasions.

His mind stuck trying not to think of anything, which was of course how he blindly stumbled into this mistake, the Chief mumbled aloud, "...Yeah."

Master Chief got one of the coldest shocks he had ever felt run through his suit. Then with an outraged huff, he suddenly heard and felt his link with Cortana click off. For a few moments, the Spartan just sat there and blinked. He hadn't known she could do that.

'Cortana...?' the Spartan tried hesitantly.

Nothing.

No response at all.

Figuring she wasn't planning on talking to him for at least... a couple days or so, John slowly unclasped his helmet. Slowly in case Cortana changed her mind. But she didn't even make a peep.

With an exasperrated sigh, Master Chief allowed his head to lean back against the wall, his eyes closed as he lay his helmet beside him. With skilled and knowing fingers, the Chief was able to find and unclasp the upper part of his armor with a hiss, dropping the heavy armor on the ground before him. Sure, the armor was like second skin to him, but that didn't mean he never felt times he wanted to part from it for a few moments.

That's when he recieved the second biggest shock within the hour.

Something warm plopped onto his lap. Something warm with legs, hands, and an unusual interest in touching him.

Praying to whatever god was out there that this was some mistake, John stated without opening his eyes, "You know... there's a whole other side of the bench you can sit on. Or even the floor."

"The floor cannot give me as much pleasure as you." A familiar voice replied, his tone low and slow.

In an instant, the Chief's eyes flew open, his surprised blue meeting the Sanghelli's black orbs as he stuttered in confusion, "Gh-Ghlariknee!"

This had to be some mistake. Why was the Sanghelli SITTING on John's lap and... fondling him? Wait, fondling?

Quickly shoving away the red Sanghelli's wandering hands, the Chief tried to scoot back, only to find his escape blocked by the bench he sat on and the wall behind him.

"This- this has to be some mistake." The Spartan said, surprised to find his words tumbling over one another.

"This is no mistake," Ghlariknee brought his face closer, his next word breathed out silkily, "...Demon."

Okay, strike out that possible reason. So then, no, this wasn't a mistake. And yes, Ghlariknee did in fact know who the Chief was.

The Sanghelli's lowered, drawled out tone sent shivers through the Spartan, who could feel his heat all pooling together in one spot. Right on the place that Ghlariknee sat on. Right on his lap.

The Chief pressed himself back against the wall, hoping desperately that he was able to sink into the bench he sat on. But he got no such luck as the red Sanghelli just further pressed himself against the half naked Chief. Staring into the Chief's panicked blue eyes, Ghlariknee grinned and grinded their hips together.

Unprepared, the Spartan groaned deeply, his eyes fluttering as he was overtaken by a sudden wave of pleasure.

"How did that feel?" The Sanghelli inquired with a smirk.

Good. That definately felt good.

Wait. Hold on.

Master Chief was able to reassess his thoughts in a moment and a sudden frown crossed his face. WHAT was he thinking? What was he doing? Actually, WHY was he letting the Sanghelli DO this?

"Ghlariknee-" He started to say, his tone gathering whatever of his scattered control that he could find.

But his statement was diverted as he suddenly found a hot warmth exploring his chest. A hot wet warmth. The Spartan's widened eyes discovered the Sanghelli, with a very pleased grin on his face, exploring the Chief's naked chest with his tongue.

Gritting his teeth in an attempt to retain a reign of his senses, John tried once more, "Ghlarik-"

The persistant Sanghelli cut him off as he ground their hips together once more, his hands joining the exploration of his mouth as they traveled over his abs. John's senses overflowed with the different sensations, his control dispersed as his voice dissolved into an uncontrolled moan.

"You've been working out." Ghlariknee took a moment to breathe, looking at the flustered Chief and liking what he saw, "I taste your sweat. You have been working out REAL hard."

"I... try." The Chief gulped down oxygen as if he couldn't get enough of it, denying any and all thoughts that his cock just may have twitched slightly at the Sanghelli's implied tones.

Good thing he still wore his armor from the waist down. Who knows what Ghlariknee would do if he had noticed that slight tug of desire.

Wait. Desire...? The Chief may have never experienced desire before, but for this to happen? Was he really into having hot sex with a muscular male alien? Because as John looked into those glazed ebony eyes, he could see what it was Ghlariknee craved.

And the Sanghelli only proved it as he leaned even closer, his thighs rippling as he ground deeply once more, loving the way the Demon moaned and the way his face looked so lovably flustered as he said, "If only you were wholly naked before me, Demon. I would show you pleasures that you have never dreamed existed."

Over by the entrance to the gym stood the Arbiter, still unnoticed by the pinned and moaning Demon on the bench. He was, unregrettably hard. Never had the Arbiter believed the picture of the Demon in such a heated and helpless state could arouse him so. But the erect member within his armor encasing told otherwise. That and he found he could not take his eyes away from the pleasing spectacle. Ghlariknee and he had performed the Sacred Acts numerous times between the moment the Demon had walked in on them to now. And still the Sanghelli was able to rise to the occasion, so to speak.

Deciding to take it one step further, Ghlariknee pulled the Demon underneath him, pinning the Chief between his own body and the soft bench below them.

Mind temporarily above the haze of lust, Master Chief looked up at the Sanghelli with widened eyes, "What are you-"

Once again cutting off the Demon's words, Ghlariknee began to rock their hips together. Despite the armor seperating tempting flesh from flesh, the feeling derived from such motions were hindered little as the two forms groaned in unison. Hands clenched into fists at his sides, the Chief decided he could start thinking later as he felt the surge of intense pleasure rush through him. His legs were slightly spread around the bench his back was pressed against, and Ghlariknee had no qualms about exploiting that as he rode the Demon a little faster.

By this point, the Arbiter found he could no longer stay away. He knew the repurcussions of the Demon's action. And he knew what had to be done. But until then, he had been arguing with himself whether or not he would participate. How could he refuse when the two looked so... desirable together?

Looking up and noticing his Sanghelli partner wavering beside them, Ghlariknee could only grin in pleasure. So the Arbiter had changed his mind? Reluctantly stopping his rocking movements, Ghlariknee slid a few inches back until he was off the Demon's groin but still sitting on his knees, pinning him in place. Eyes shooting open, the Chief looked around him to be greeted with the shock of the presence of another Sanghelli.

Still affected by the slight tingling rush, it took a moment more than normal for the Chief to gather himself and inquire heavily, "Arbiter?"

The Chief started to sit up, noticing with a frown that the other Sanghelli still sat on his knees, preventing escape. Thinking that the cobalt Sanghelli was his salvation, the Chief opened his mouth to say something to the Arbiter. But whatever he had been about to say was drowned out by his own deep moan as a strange new sensation filled him.

The Arbiter grinned. If sticking his hand in the Demon's pants and simply stroking his cock derived such a reaction, what would other more intimate acts create? The Chief was holding his upper body upright by a bent elbow, his blue glance accusing as he looked up at the Sanghelli kneeled beside him. He looked like he was going to put up a fight. For some reason, this only aroused the Arbiter further.

Trying not to picture the Demon sprawled naked before him on his bed, the Arbiter instead devoted his attention to pumping the Demon's cock. His own was straining hard enough within his armor. No need to add more fuel to the fire.

Warmth and pleasure rolled from the hard contact and raged through the Chief's body like wildfire. His eyes fluttered as he collapsed fully onto his back, his head rolling from one side to the other. Who knew such feelings could exist? Master Chief couldn't believe the Arbiter could reduce him to such a groaning mass with only one hand. And what a sleek and skillful hand it was.

Despite their own hard-ons, the Sanghelli were content to watch the writhing Demon form helpless under their ministrations. They didn't doubt he could stop this any time, if his mind was clear enough and he was full against what they were doing. So he must have desired this at least a little. Still, it couldn't hurt to lead him on in mindless pleasure.

The Arbiter nuzzled the Demon's neck gently even as his hand continued pumping the Demon's cock hard. The Chief gasped and raised his hips slightly, reacting to an instinctal urge he did not quite grasp yet. All he knew was that he wanted relief and he wanted it NOW.

"Do you want to come, Demon?" The Arbiter was whispering into the Demon's ear, his hand still continuing its ministrations, "Do you?"

Master Chief tried to concentrate on something other than the feeling in his throbbing member. He tried.

"I want you to come in my hand, Demon. I want to hear you groan." The Arbiter whispered, his words dripping with lust.

Eyes wide, John felt his whole body convulse uncontrollably as he suddenly ejaculated, the long fingers of the cobalt Sanghelli still wrapped around his heated cock. He came in spurts, unsure whether it was the Arbiter's voice that triggered it or if it had been the doubled efforts and ministrations of the two Sanghelli.

Grinning, the Arbiter carresed the drained cock once more before pulled his hand out dripping with cum. Sly looks adorning both of their faces, the Sanghelli ensured the Demon's half-lidded eyes were watching them before they both started licking the Arbiter's hand clean.

John's eyes widened once more at the sight, feeling his flagging member twitch slightly. But despite the immense pleasure he had gotten from the two Sanghelli, the Chief was not sure he wanted to stay for a repeat performance. He wasn't sure whether he liked the feelings these two could extract from him. And he wasn't sure just how much control over him it made them, or anyone, have over him.

"Excuse me." The Chief said gruffly, quickly extracting himself from between Ghlariknee and the bench.

Busy with making sure the red Sanghelli didn't fall face first into the floor, the Arbiter wasn't able to stop the Demon's escape as he quickly stepped out of the room.

Eyes locking with Ghlariknee, the Arbiter smirked widely.

"That was... intense." Ghlariknee stated, his eyes flickering over the doorway the Demon had just exited through.

"I do not believe I have ever seen the Demon move so fast." The Arbiter commented wryly.

"Or make such pleasurable sounds..." Ghlariknee reminisced, his member throbbing achingly underneath his armor.

Nodding in consent, the Arbiter looked to the side and noticed the Demon's discarded armor, "I do believe we shall have to return his items to him."

Pulling the cobalt Sanghelli towards him, Ghlariknee said, "Later. Right now, we have some slight... problems to take care of."

Agreeing wholeheartedly with this suggestion, the Arbiter drew the other closer. Maybe giving the Demon what was coming to him would not be as bad an idea as he had thought. This may, actually, turn out to be fun and pleasurable.

For they were not done with the Demon. Not by a long shot.


	18. He just got clean!

Disclaimer: Me no own halo.

A/N: Heh heh... -eyes dart around, hand nervously rubbing neck- Uh... yeah, I have a good excuse for not writing so long. Yeah. Uh... I'll remember it later.

-----------------

Strongly against ever stepping into the Sanghelli's shower room ever again, Master Chief instead located a clean source of water on the planet via Sanghelli computer. He actually felt sort of strange without the top half of his armor and his helmet, but he was not about to step back into the gym to get it.

Strolling hurriedly down the corridor and past a few surprised Grunts, the Chief activated the door and stepped out onto the ramp.

Before it could close again, John whipped his head back in and said to the Grunts, "If Drajha-Lee asks, I'm taking a swim in the Northeastern vector of the woods."

Then he was off, leaving the two Grunts to look at eachother and shrug, a confused, "Okay" on their lips.

-o-o-o-o-

Raido had been bored out of his mind. Killing off members of his crew that were displeasing him was losing its flavor. Not to mention he couldn't kill off all of his technicians without severely prolonging their trapped state on the planet. He had been staring unseeingly at the monitor capturing images outside the ship when he spotted movement.

Someone was leaving the Renegade ship.

This perked his interest slightly and Raido lifted his head slightly from a propped up arm, his furry eyebrows raised.

Who was this?

He had thought it was a Sanghelli for a split second, but that theory was quickly thrown out the door. Though its stature was nearer to that of a Sanghelli than it was to a Grunt or a traitorous Hunter, it was clearly not any of those.

In fact, the hairless upper torso and arms looked much like... a human.

That's when it all hit the Brute, who immediately straightened from his bored, slouched posture. The green titan armor over the human's legs and feet, the way he walked, the mere power his form radiated...

Even the look of his icy eyes...

It had to be. It just had to be.

"The Demon." Raido rumbled deeply, anger tinting his voice.

He was walking before he had even realized he was standing, his furry fist clenching at the mere thought of confronting the one enemy Raido viewed as formidable.

"To hell with the treaty." Were the last words mumbled from Raido's lips before the Brute stomped off.

-o-o-o-o-

John nearly melted at the sight of the large lake that presented itself beyond the clearing of trees. It had been just as the map had presented it.

Crouching near the edge of the trees, John took several breaths just standing still and quiet, observing anything and everything for the slightest hint of danger. The slightest tint of a yellow mist and he was ready to dart back into the defensive walls of the ship. Or hold his ground if need be.

But a few more stretches of silence and natural serene ambience convinced him of the lack of danger.

Without a moment's hesitation, John kicked off the rest of his gear and dove headfirst into the lake. The moment the soothing water washed over his muscles, the Spartan was in pure bliss. Especially after that heated session in the gym room.

Not to mention this feeling of sluggishness that overwhelmed him out of the blue. Maybe a few moments of rest would do him good.

"Just a couple minutes..." Master Chief said to himself as he dragged his body out of the water to rest against the trunk of a tree. He slid down to a sitting position, completely fine in that moment to just let the rays of the planet's sun dry him off.

The snap of a twig alerted the Spartan to the presence of another. How long had he been sleeping? Er- I mean, resting his eyes?

The Chief spun to glance at where his armor had been placed, only to feel a rush of cold shock hit him when he discovered the turf lay bare. All right. Not fully bare. There was a person standing there instead. And when John's blue orbs finally met and held the other's black ones, he barely restrained from audibly choking in distress.

"...Arbiter." The Chief greeted slowly. His breath hitched when he noticed the Sanghelli's gaze raking over the Spartan's naked form, almost as if he wished to devour him on the spot. The Chief received conflicting signals as the thought suddenly made him feel uncomfortably hot while cold chills ran down his spine.

"I was curious..." The Arbiter answered the unasked question, his eyes lingering on the Chief's body longer than the Spartan would have liked, "You left so quickly earlier... Were you never pleasured before...?"

Master Chief felt his face flush thoroughly. What kind of question was THAT?! When the Arbiter's gaze flicked upwards to read his reaction, the Spartan just about died. He instantly regretted not having a helmet to cover the blush. Hastily, he asked instead, "Where is my armor?"

A grin overtook the cobalt Elite's face as he commented with raised brows, "Avoiding the question, are we?"

"In a rush to get beaten up, are we?" Master Chief countered, taking a step forward menacingly.

The Arbiter merely smirked, holding the Chief's smoldering gaze for a while before shrugging in reply, "I merely deposited it atop that tree over there. You know, so no one could steal it."

"Yeah..." The Spartan grumbled dryly, catching sight of his armor on top of said tree and ambling over to it, "...Right."

There was only one way to approach the tree for there were spiky bushes surrounding most of its base. Just as he was about to start climbing a body pressed full length against his back, a voice whispering into his ear, "Demon..."

His body still registering the contact behind him and all the implications, his mind sort of froze, though for some reason his dry sarcasm still poured out, "Yeah, that's what I'm called..."

Cursing his momentary lapse of action, the Spartan jumpstarted his body with a bite to his lip as he started to turn around, preparing to meet his attacker head on.

But in response, he was pushed more urgently towards the tree. Bracing his feet and placing his flat palms against the rough bark were the only things keeping the Chief from getting a frontal body splinter makeover.

"Don't... turn around just yet..." The needy voice hissed, his mandibles breathing heatedly against the side of John's neck, "I want to make you cum. Like this..."

Master Chief's eyes widened as the words and voice finally connected in his brain. Turning his head slightly, the Spartan met the gaze of the Sanghelli behind him as he said incredulously, "Arbiter...?"

The Spartan had thought he was being attacked. Though with the way the cobalt Elite grinned and how his hand was trailing slowly down the Chief's muscled torso, John almost wished he had been attacked instead.

"What are you-" Master Chief started to object.

But he just about choked on his words as a skilled hand wrapped around his penis. In an instant, the Chief felt a strange warmth tighten inside and jolts of pleasure exploding from the contact. But John thought he handled the situation sort of well as only a hiss escaped through clenched teeth, though he felt as though he should be rocking his hips and moaning.

John blinked and froze at that thought.

Hmm... something was definitely wrong with him.

"Arbiter," The Chief growled, knowing he needed to get some distance, and fast, "Don't-" But his words turned into an unexpected groan as the large hand started working his equally large cock.

The Chief fought the urge to move his hips with all his strength, fading as it was under the Sanghelli's hand.

"Shit." The Spartan's voice sounded strained as he leaned forward to brace himself more fully against the trunk, his chest mere millimeters from its smooth surface. The Arbiter's other arm, which was curled firmly across the Chief's waist, prevented the Spartan from separating their warm bodies.

Wait... warm?

With widening eyes, the Spartan realized that the Arbiter was naked as well. And the thought was confirmed as he felt an enormous bulge resting snugly against his ass.

Noticing the sudden stiffening of the Demon's body, the Arbiter crooned softly, "Don't worry.. you're not ready for that yet."

"Yet?" The Chief growled, twisting his head to shoot a dark look at the Sanghelli, "I never agreed to doing anything in the first place."

As a matter of fact, why wasn't he fighting back?

A part of his mind agreed, thinking he should go all out and give the Sanghelli bruises in places he never knew he had.

His fists tightened.

"You don't have to do anything." The Arbiter said smugly. Sensing the Demon's fighting spirit surging forth, the Arbiter quickly returned his attentions to pleasuring the member in his hands. For he knew the Demon's weakness. And he didn't mind exploiting it in the least.

-o-o-o-

The Brute was lumbering along silently, trying to find where the Demon had gone when strange sounds and noises greeted him. Frowning, he stalked closer and froze at what lay before him.

Mere yards away the Demon stood stark naked, trapped between a tree before him and what Rave knew to be the Arbiter behind. The Brute cocked his thick brow as he noticed both were naked.

What was this strange turn of events?

Not only were they as clothed as the day they were born, but one of them was producing small pants and barely pent up moans. And since the forest was all but silent, these noises seemed to blare loudly, no matter how quiet the originator of the noises was trying to be.

Wait... could it be?

The Brute's breath actually caught in his throat.

The noises were emitted from the cold-hearted Demon himself.

Raido couldn't believe his ears.

"...STOP... before... I kick your ass..." The Demon half-grunted, half-panted, attempting to pour malice into the statement though he clearly failed.

"Is that all you want to do?" The Arbiter grinned as he began to grind his hips against the firm buttocks before him.

The Demon gasped, jerking forward in an attempt to enlarge the distance between, only to accidentally buck into the hand currently pumping his cock. This produced an even larger groan from the Demon, who bucked upwards once more before getting a hold of himself and stiffening his body.

The Brute could barely believe what was going on.

The Demon didn't seem to want to... Was the Arbiter SEDUCING the Demon?!

Raido didn't believe he was even breathing at this point. And he really didn't think he cared at the moment.

"Give in to your pleasure." The Arbiter said suggestively, "Your resistance can't last."

"Nnng... N-never..." The Demon managed to say between heavy pants.

The Brute couldn't help but stand rooted to the spot. He had never thought to conquer the Demon this way. And truthfully... he couldn't quite state that the thought wasn't tempting at all. To have the Demon sprawled naked and vulnerable before him. Begging him to stop even as he moaned helplessly in pleasure.

Yes... the thought was tempting indeed.

-----------------------  
Ah, crap. How did Raido get dragged into this? Anywho, I HAD discontinued this story in cuz I didn't think the lower ratings could handle where this storyline was obviously heading.

But certain reviewers and parties have asked otherwise.

Here's to savage –er- I mean, relentless –uh, crap- what I meant was… uh… dedicated, yeah, here's to DEDICATED fans. Kudos. Enjoy


	19. Crush and Grind

A/N: Hey, yeah this story's still alive and kickin'. Warning, still major slash yaoi happening in this chapter. Just wanted to give a shout out to Credete and Ossanlin, you guys know how to make an author grin.

Also, if you don't have a taste for Brute "lovin'", you should turn tail and run now, as it appears in this chapter.

Master Chief: "Brute… lovin'….?"

Arbiter: "…"

Master Chief: "…"

Arbiter: "…"

Master Chief: "I'm calling in Arbiter as my stunt double."

Arbiter: "No way in nine hells."

-o-o-o-

The Chief's body shivered with a strange, intense pleasure. The Sanghelli's touch made his body hyperaware of everything else he touched. The soil beneath his feet. The hard bark of the tree before him. The solid body of the Elite behind him. And last of all, that light, yet firm grip the Arbiter had on his quivering member.

This was not possible. It could not be happening. Master Chief had faced hordes of enemies, from the flood to the Prophet's armies. He had triumphed feats unimagined. Had survived an enormous fall that would have killed anyone else.

And yet he couldn't get his strength because of what the Arbiter was doing to him? For it was true, he could feel his legs barely holding his body up, supporting himself by leaning against the tree before him.

"Arbi- gah… Arbiter…" John attempted to say through the pulsing waves of pleasure, resolutely keeping his body as stiff as board. It was the only thing he could control at the moment, it seemed, and the Chief was not about to let go of that.

"Yes… Demon?" The cobalt Sanghelli prompted, feasting on every delicious, barely controlled shiver and moan he could draw out of the other.

Clenching his fist, trying to get his reactions under his rigid command, Master Chief turned his head to the side so he could look the Sanghelli in the eye as he demanded, "Release me…"

He didn't like the way the Elite grinned as he replied, "As you wish, Demon."

The heat in Master Chief's lower extremities heightened as the Sanghelli's fist started pumping his cock faster. Bark chipped off the tree at the renewed vigor of the Chief's grip, a choked cry escaping his lips. His legs gave way and the Demon dropped to his knees, one hand catching his fall as the other propped his head against the trunk before him.

The Arbiter simply followed the Chief down, partially amused yet more turned on by the new position. He couldn't help jerking his hips forward and back as though he were fucking the Demon's entrance, when in fact his slickened rod was merely grazing the underside of the Spartan's cock.

Master Chief moaned, his muscles trembling as he felt the Sanghelli's torso lean over his crouched form. He could feel the hardened shaft of the Elite below his own dripping member, and he couldn't help the shiver as it slid and rubbed past his opening, forward to his cock, then back again.

It became harder to breath as he felt the Sanghelli's hand shift, to not only accommodate the Chief's shaft, but to envelope the Arbiter's hardened rod simultaneously. This made it difficult to be immobile, as this plastered the Elite's hips onto the Chief's own, forcing him into thrusting movements that utilized the pumping hand to its full potential.

The Chief felt a sensation of heat coiling in his abdomen. His panting grew wilder, more uncontrolled. His fist clenched against the tree, his toes curling. He wouldn't be able to last much longer.

-o-o-o-

Raido watched from his little, bushy, hiding spot. He couldn't believe he was actually salivating. In his world, you took what you wanted. Food. Drink. Sex.

It was the perfect replica. Though the Demon denied it, the traitorous Arbiter merely took it. And they were rutting like there was no tomorrow.

The Brute could smell the musk in the air, and he grabbed his own needy shaft, so swollen that he knew it would take only moments.

"I… can't…" Master Chief attempted to maintain control over his voice, but it came out on the verge of breathy moans.

That voice, that tone… It did wonders to the Brute's cock, which twitched and pulsed harder. He fisted himself with more intensity, imagining it was him ravaging the Demon. Him pinning the Human and having his way. Oh, how the soldier would shiver beneath him, taking the pounding of his life. He would struggle, of course.

Raido always loved it when they struggled.

But, as it was apparent now, the Demon would be powerless to stop him. With lust-filled eyes, he focused more intently on the scene before him, taking in the sweat-drenched form of the Demon.

-o-o-o-

"Cannot what, Demon?" The Sanghelli questioned, grunting.

When the Demon didn't reply, the Arbiter continued, "Cannot do this? Cannot" –grunt- "believe this is happening? Or perhaps… you cannot hold it in any longer?"

Master Chief shot a glare over his shoulder, but the Arbiter merely smirked and started pumping both of them faster, ramming his hips harder as he imagined plowing into the soldier's virgin opening. The Demon cried out, his head falling forward.

Leaning forward so that his mouth was near John's ear, the cobalt Sanghelli demanded, "Cum for me, Demon."

What the Chief wanted to do was to tell the Sanghelli to go screw himself. Punch his lights out. Anything but what the sudden heat of his words did to the newly discovered center of pleasure in his loins. Suddenly overheated and charged, Master Chief cried out, his body stiffening as his load emptied itself from his straining cock. His hard streams of cum were intermixed with the Arbiter's own sperm, decorating the hard ground and the tree before them.

A few yards away, the Brute came as well, barely holding in the savage roar that wanted to burst through at his completion.

Before the Chief could recover, the Arbiter stood both of them up and tied one of the Demon's wrists to one of the higher branches, with just enough slack for him to be comfortable.

"What are you…?" Master Chief demanded, attempting to gather the strength of how angry he should be. But he felt more than a little spent, and wobbled slightly on his feet. He ended up leaning back against the trunk to keep from falling on the ground.

Smirking, the Arbiter simply replied, "I'll be back with the rest of your armor, Demon."

Before the Chief could even voice up a protest, the Sanghelli was gone. Grumbling to himself under his breath, the Chief glared pointedly where the Arbiter had disappeared. He wasn't sure what he should be more upset at. What had just transpired, or the fact that the Sanghelli had the gall to tie him up and leave. HIM. The Chief. In the middle of a freaking forest. Unarmed.

Hell, there could be some sort of beast, thirsting for his blood and about to attack for all he knew.

Snap!

Well, speak of the devil…

Thinking it was the Arbiter, the Chief sighed heavily as he grumbled, "It's about time you…"

His eyes widened as he recognized the massive, furry form. Shit! He twisted, tugging at his restrained arm. Any sluggishness he might have had as a leftover of his recent climax was zapped away.

"Fuck!" The Chief cursed under his breath as neither the strengthened carbon rope, nor the immensely thick branch, gave way.

He turned back to the Brute, noticing that the enemy was much closer than before.

He could just imagine the Brute ramming his body into a sticky red paste against the tree. Sure, he was genetically enhanced and augmented, trained ruthlessly since the age of six, and led to lead a life of war, but he did not possess even half the strength of a Brute without his armor. Not to mention being rooted to the spot was a clear disadvantage.

Holding up his free hand, as though to stop the other's moving closer, the Chief cleared his voice, "Now… Raido… let's not do anything rash. Remember about the treaty."

"Fuck the treaty," The Brute leader snorted, before pausing, "No… as a matter of fact, I have a better idea. Why don't I… just fuck you?"

Master Chief's eyes widened substantially. This… was unexpected. An indignant anger suddenly rose in him, and his gaze narrowed, "What makes you think you can get away with this?"

"Look around, Demon…" Raido said, doing just exactly that, "…does it look like there is anyone who can stop me?"

The Master Chief made the mistake of looking up. Part of his armor was still stashed up in the tree. If he could just reach it.

Raido recognized a threat when he saw one.

A growl alerted him to the charging Brute. The Chief cursed, pulling the rope that ensnared him, and began to climb it. But he had started too late, and the Brute was charging too fast. John had just gotten his free hand on the branch when the Covenant lunged at him, massively thick arms trapping the Chief's lower torso to the Brute's hairy chest.

The Chief made a desperate pull of his arms, trying to heave himself out of the Brute's grasp. But Raido snarled, giving a tug that forced the Demon to let go of the branch, or otherwise risk pulling his arms out of their sockets.

The arm that was tied hung above him, useless as the rest of the rope had snagged itself on smaller branches along the way. His free hand had to grab the shoulder of the beast beneath him, his balance precarious as the Brute only held him around the waist, his upper torso left to its own devices.

The Chief debated whether he should stab viciously at the Covenant's eyes, only to realize he had better damn hope the Brute would release him to allow his escape. Otherwise John was sure he would be squeezed like a tube of toothpaste before he could blink.

"Look… can't we work something out?" The Chief asked, clearing his suddenly dry throat.

Raido merely grunted. He had never had the Demon so… completely at his mercy before. He could kill the Spartan if he wanted to. But… no. He had other plans.

Plans which he made pointedly clear as he lifted one of the Chief's legs over his hairy shoulder, a pleased growl emanating from his chest.

The Spartan's breath hitched as he felt so exposed. Forget getting squeezed into paste, fighting back and dying was better than allowing this atrocity to happen. He winded back his free fist and slugged the hairy covenant on the side of the head, avoiding the metal helmet as he did so.

Raido staggered a little, his grip loosening. Master Chief used this time to desperately attempt his climb again, trying to tear his body from the Covenant's grasp. But the Brute's recovery time was fast, and he snarled. In retaliation, he slammed the Chief against the trunk of the tree, the Demon cried out on impact. Then Raido proceeded to grab the Demon's free hand and pinned it behind the Spartan's back. With a growl, he spread the legs of the Demon, who was suspended in the air by the Brute and the trunk alone, and continued his explorations.

His head still swimming from the impact with the tree, the Chief found himself snapping clearly into focus as he felt a warm, uninvited breath, spread across his spent penis. Glancing down, he felt an intense heat shoot through him as he realized the Brute was looking up at him through hooded eyes. The Chief swallowed. Hard.

The Brute wanted to watch him.

The Brute took his massive tongue and licked over the Demon's entrance, flicking up towards the human's trembling cock. The sound of John's curses, punctuated sharply with a moan, was music to his ears.

The Spartan could feel his cock starting to harden with interest, and he fought as hard as he could against the sensations.

However, it was a lost cause.

A large, warm and wet tongue wrapped itself dexterously around the Chief's cock, twisting around a couple times as it enveloped the Spartan's entire length. John let out a strangled breath, never having felt anything like this before. With the Sanghelli, hands had been the extent of their interactions. At least, on the Chief they had been. He hadn't considered oral stimulation.

With a loud slurp, the Brute sucked his tongue back into his mouth, sliding deliciously against the Demon's entire length. There was no mistake about it now, the flagging cock was now stiffening under his hungry gaze. Raido looked up at the Demon and grinned triumphantly.

John couldn't help the shiver that travelled up his spine at that intense, devouring look the Brute shot him.

The Chief struggled once more, but the Brute's grip on his thighs was too strong, his free arm still held prisoner against his lower back. Master Chief cried out as Raido shoved his snout further between his trapped thighs, spreading them wider as the Brute's tongue mercilessly lapped between them. The Spartan's attempts to use the muscles in his legs to shut out the unwanted attention failed horribly, the skilled ministrations turning his limbs into useless jello.

John fought to get his feelings under control, his body raging back just as hard. The trunk behind him was rough against his back, but at least it was cool. Nothing at all compared to the engulfing heat of the Brute before him.

"You better pray we don't see each other again," Master Chief growled, "because I am going to kill you."

Raido drew back a little to look up at the Demon, his good eye looking at him incredulously, "You speak as though we will be parting ways after this, Demon. When, as a matter of fact, I will be taking you with me back to my ship. There, I shall have all the time I need to… get acquainted with your body."

The Chief paled at the thought. He couldn't let that happen. Jerking one of his legs free, Master Chief swung his knee at the side of the Brute Leader's head. It connected and the Brute roared aloud, staggering a little to the side.

Without the heated contact, Master Chief could feel his brain functions booting up once more. Still dangling from the rope, he gave it a fierce, desperate tug. The force of it burned his wrist, but the pain was pushed aside as hope struck through despair. As it untangled, John lunged forward by kicking off from the trunk, the rope's longer length allowing him to tackle the stumbling brute from behind. Immediately looping the form of his imprisonment around Raido's thick neck, the angered Spartan wrapped his wrists around the rope at his end and pulled. A gratifying feeling rushed through him as he heard the furry menace choking.

Unfortunately for the Chief, Raido hadn't gotten to his rank through treachery and brute strength alone. A quick thinker, the beast ignored the urge to pull at the rope restricting his airway, and instead threw his massive arms around the human crouched on his shoulders. The minute the Brute hooked his hands around him, the Spartan had enough time to curse audibly before Raido threw him overhead.

The strength of the Brute was unparalleled, as the rope held but the whole branch it was tied to ripped from its core, splinters flying along with the Chief, who rolled and crashed through the brush a few yards away. The wind was knocked out of him as he landed on his back. Even in his stunned state, he caught site of the massive broken branch flying towards him. Rolling to the side with his enhanced reflexes, he had enough time to contemplate the rope still attached to its base before he cursed again.

He was jerked and dragged a foot or so more before the broken branch came to a crashing halt.

John was sprawled on the ground, attempting to get his breath back, when the hard stomps of footsteps registered in his mind. Scrambling to his feet, the Spartan was just in time to face the Brute, but when he brought his fists up, he was disheartened to discover another flaw. The rope had tangled enough to snare his wrists together. Raido noticed the same time John did, and the grin he gave was not very heartening.

Raido lunged.

The Chief attempted to dodge, but was shorted once again by the rope. He had a fraction of a second to brace himself before the Brute charged into him. When the dust settled, the Spartan was face to face with the ugly mug of the Brute, pinned to the ground by Raido's weight and overly muscled body.

"Why don't we make this a fair fight," The Chief grunted, shifting uncomfortably, "and untie me?"

"Fight?" Raido grunted, taking his time to admire the trapped warrior beneath him, "Are you still convincing yourself that's what this is?"

"Are you too afraid to face me one on one?" Master Chief growled, turning the shudder from the Brute's gaze into a jerked struggle for freedom.

"You think I'm stupid enough to rid myself of an incredibly useful advantage?" Raido scoffed, taking the Spartan's tied wrists and pinning it above the Chief's head, paying no heed to the turf and dirt shifting under his claws.

John could feel panic starting to surge forth, tugging harder at the Brute's infuriatingly strong grip. He didn't know how this whole day could have led to this. His deepest regret was not listening to the Arbiter and choosing the shower that he did. What species put their Viagra in an unmarked shower stall? And why couldn't the Chief just get a break?

"If you stop struggling, you just may enjoy yourself." Raido chuckled, his free hand trailing over the Spartan's naked flesh, enjoying the shiver that it inspired. He grinned even more at the Demon's attempt to hide his reaction.

The Chief shot a fear-induced glare at the Brute, covering up his despair with anger.

"I liked it better when you were trying to kill me." The Spartan snarled, covering up the hitch in his breath from claws grazing down his side, unusual in the fact that it didn't draw blood. It was even almost sensual, driving a sharp shudder to travel through the Chief's trapped frame.

He would've preferred if it had drawn blood.

His feelings on the matter must've reflected in his burning blue orbs, because the Brute gave a short bark of laughter, amused by more than just his words alone.

"And I…" Raido trailed slowly, watching the Spartan's face very closely as his hand travelled lower, "…like it much better…"

The Chief frowned as the hairs on the back of his neck raised, wary.

The moment the large hand lingered a moment too long on the side of his thigh, the Spartan's eyes started to widen, "Don't-"

Raido grinned, "…when you moan for me." He punctuated his last words taking the Spartan's shaft in his hand, and stroking it deeply.

The hard calluses on the Brute's hand gripped and rubbed just right across the Chief's quivering member. Despite his attempt to retain his composure, Master Chief couldn't stop the choked cry that tore itself from his throat. His hips jerked on their own accord, lifting clear off the ground and back down, which didn't help any with the muscled leg in between his. The friction inspired another jolt of pleasure through his system. Before he could stop himself, John let out another uncontrolled moan, his hips repeating the motion before he got a hold of himself.

Breathing heavily, the Spartan pried his eyes open to take in the furry menace above him, his eyes quickly narrowing. Raido merely smirked in response. He couldn't believe his luck. What started off as a day where he demanded the Demon's blood had quickly boiled down to wanting something entirely different. This was definitely a strange turn of events. But any day the Brute could get what he wanted, along with torturing a poor soul in the process, was a good day.

The fact that it was the Demon made it that much sweeter.

-o-o-o-

A/N: I know, I show up after a million years then end this chapter like that. What can I say, I am a bastard.

Just out of curiosity, how many ppl ran away cuz of the Brute thing?


	20. Chapter 20

Master Chief: *reads silver-teddy-1342's review and promptly goes silent*

Cortana: "Chief? Your eyes look like they're about to fall out your head."

Master Chief: *snarls at the computer*

Drajha-Lee: *stalks by, pauses to read* "What is the significance of… a cherry? And why does silver-teddy want yours to be… popped?"

Master Chief: *makes strangled sounds, gets up, and abruptly leaves the room*

Drajha-Lee: "…" *looks at Cortana's holo form* "Has the whole ship gone mad? I was in the hallway and was almost ambushed by two of my best, the Arbiter and Ghlariknee. And I swear I smelled a Brute."

*the Spartan's surprised shout echoes down the corridor, followed by gunfire*

Drajha-Lee: "…"

-o-o-o-

"Don't… do that… again." John snarled, his icy eyes spitting fury and outrage. But his body trembled ever so slightly, weakened from the unwanted pleasures. He could control a plasma sword as it sliced through foes, a rocket launcher locking onto a speeding ghost, a tank against a covenant drop ship. But he couldn't control his reaction to what the Brute was doing to him.

And though he would never admit it, it made him afraid.

Which only made him more angry at the loss of control.

"What? This?" Raido questioned innocently, stroking the imprisoned member once more.

The Brute's eyes narrowed as the Demon clenched his jaw, whatever sounds he would have made stifled behind an unmoving mouth. So the Demon wanted to play this game, did he? Well Raido was never one to refrain from cheating.

"You think you are so clever," Raido smirked, "but try silencing yourself when I do this."

The Brute's hand formed a tight tunnel, sliding torturously up and down the Spartan's rod at a quickened pace. The Chief only held out a few seconds before his body betrayed him once more. The movement sent sparks of pleasure jolting through him, his hips beginning to move and buck on their own. He could feel his body getting taut, his back arching off the ground.

His breath was ragged, gasping and moaning uncontrollably. His bound wrists struggled in the hold above his head, fists clenching.

"R-Raido -gah- STOP this!" Chief managed past the onslaught, voice shaky but determined.

"Hmm, no Demon. I have you right where I want you. You have been a plague, an unnecessary nuisance to our beloved Covenant for a long time now. It is so... satisfying to have you under my mercy. No Demon. I will not stop. In fact, I can do this all day. And all night as soon as I have you in my ship." The Brute said smugly.

The thought horrified the Chief to no end. He bit his lip, but only succeeded in muffling his cries of pleasure, rather than muting them altogether. He felt his end nearing, the Brute's triumph approaching, when the wonderfully unexpected happened.

The zing of a plasma blast pounding the turf next to them was followed by a seriously enraged Elite roaring, "RAIDO!"

Raido covered up his startled jump and slight fear with a disgruntled huff at being bothered. The Brute stopped his forced ministrations, looking up in irritation at the newcomers, "What?"

John didn't think he could be happier at seeing that furious scowl on Arbiter's face, only a yard or two away. His cobalt armor gleaming dangerously under the spotted shade of the trees. Ghlariknee had an equal amount of anger twisting his own crimson armored facial features, glancing worriedly at the him on the ground. It overrode any embarrassment at his predicament, just clutching at anything that could get him away from this beast.

"You threaten this truce with your unwelcome actions. Release the Demon and step away from him!" Arbiter demanded, Plasma Rifle aimed directly at the hairy Brute.

"Hmm. Weren't you doing just the same, disgraced one? Making unwelcome advances on our Demon, here?" Raido commented gruffly.

Arbiter bristled visibly.

But the Spartan jumped in with a hasty, "It wasn't unwelcome from *them*, Brute."

Three surprised pair of eyes turned to Demon.

"*THEM*?" Raido spat incredulously, raising his massive arm to wave towards the two Elites, releasing the Spartan's bound wrists in the process.

Big mistake.

Balling his bound hands into one huge fist, John sideswiped the Brute's temple, the result was as though someone had slammed a sledgehammer against the Covenant's face, the furry beast staggering dazedly to his feet. Master Chief flipped to his heels, following through with a round house kick to Raido's jaw. The crack resonated in the silent forest. The behemoth took another three steps back, eyes blinking rapidly to shake his sudden bout of dizziness.

But Chief stepped it up, going inside the kill box to slam his fists upwards against the Brute's jugular. As Raido gasped, one hand to his throat and wondering why it was so difficult to breath, the Spartan looped his bound hands around one massive arm, launching himself up and over, using his momentum from the swing to bring the behemoth down, his enhanced Spartan genetics and augmentations adding ten times more force than that of a normal human. The ground shuddered at the forced shifting of weight.

When Raido was fallen forward to one knee, Chief shoved a heel against the back of the shaggy shoulder, shoving the Brute's face to the ground as he prepped the big arm for one final move. With a tightened grip and a large twist, he still detected the slight pop above Raido's agonized roar of pain.

The Spartan had successfully twisted limb from stubborn socket, dislocating the other's shoulder. Their anatomy was similar, but with the denser bone mass and strength of the Brute's form, Master Chief had somehow believed it should've been harder.

Feeling his job was done, Master Chief released the useless arm, straightening to cast his gaze back and sideways to the two impressed Sanghelli warriors. The Spartan grinned, not knowing just how dazzling it was to the Elites. Not only had they never truly had the chance to really observe his face, but they could never have pictured such a self satisfied smirk to cross the Demon's features.

The Chief turned and started walking to them when barked laughter came unexpectedly from behind him. He paused, startled. He had just given the Brute a pounding, and Raido was laughing?

He almost wished he hadn't turned, that milky white eye and darkened black casting a gaze that yearned to enslave the Chief. That gruff voice flowed as smooth as grated flakes off boulders, "If that's what you're like with foreplay, I wonder what it would be like to sample the main course."

The Spartan watched, incredulous, as the Brute staggered to his feet. One massive arm dangled useless, but the other was still just as dangerous.

"Keep wondering." Chief said in clipped tones, eyeing the other suspiciously before turning to resume walking towards the two.

The Arbiter was still glaring at the Brute, but his weapon was cast lazily on his shoulder, realizing what he knew all along. The Demon could take care of himself. Ghlariknee looked more worried, of the three, but hid it well. However, even before their faces flashed with alarm, he could tell something was happening behind him as he heard a rustling of movement.

With strength born of resolve and determination, the Spartan flexed his chest and arms enough to snap the rope binding his wrists, pivoting to deliver a final, devastating fist to Raido's jaw in a brutal uppercut. The sound of bone to bone resounded within the shady forest, the Brute flying soundlessly in the air before crumpling into an unconscious heap on the ground.

Without a second glance back, the Spartan grabbed his gear from the tree top and the ones offered by the mute Elites, calling over his shoulder when they didn't budge, "Well, are you guys comin' or not? We have a ship to fix."

The two warriors exchanged amused and astonished glances, before following the human. Did nothing ever phase the Demon?

-o-o-o-

-::That was quite the afternoon for you, Chief::- Cortana commented, a smile in her voice.

"Hm." John grunted in assent, absently taking apart his assault rifle and cleaning it. Pointless really, as he had run out of clips for it ages ago. But it was mindless work, and exactly what he needed, muscle memory going through the motions automatically, "Don't know what you're so amused about."

-::Well, I knew you were a super soldier. Didn't realize you were a super stud too::- Cortana joked, barely keeping from cracking up.

"Funny." John said dryly, but couldn't help cracking a grin.

The AI knew him too well.

-::Too bad we didn't stick around. What a girl wouldn't give to see a Brute get the living daylights beat right outta 'im. Hmm, how do you think the reunion will go?::- Cortana mused out loud.

"One thing at a time." John said, with the all-consuming patience that he had built for Cortana.

-::You know, how is it you're not more upset? With all you've been through-::-

"Cortana."

-::-The fall. The allegiance switching. The interest from the Elites-::-

"*Cortana*."

-::-well, let's face it. MORE than interest. From the Arbiter AND Ghlariknee. And then that short mess with RAIDO-::-

"Okay. Thank you. For accounting all the good and bad things -er, mostly bad things, but I would just like to sit here and do *nothing* for a moment, if you could-"

-::Stop mentioning it?::- Cortana chuckled.

"Yes."

-::Got it Chief. Although... *technically* you ARE doing somethi-::-

"Cortana?"

-::Shutting up now::-

"Thank you."

-o-o-o-

Chief was wandering the corridor of the ship, when he noticed a large room near the end of it. When he paused at the doorway, hand itching for his sidearm as it normally would in unfamiliar terrain, he heard a large shuffling inside.

He nearly started when he saw the Hunter's lumbering approach, before reminding himself, once again, that they were allies now.

The massive beast looked at him mutely, gauging him, almost. In the large room the former Covenant still managed to make it look quite small in comparison, the tip of his deadly spikes mere feet away from the ceiling.

"Lum, was it?" Chief started unsurely, he waved towards the large standing glass tube that held his bond brother, "What happened to your friend there?"

The Hunter's wail was hull shaking, the big guy obviously distressed. The Spartan had taken a step back in reflex, half expecting an attack.

"The Flood abominations." An Elite voice answered from behind John.

Master Chief turned, not realizing the Arbiter had been there. Was the other following him?

Instead of attacking that issue, Master Chief turned to look between both Hunter and Elite, "Mind if I..." He gestured towards the unconscious warrior in the tube.

Arbiter glanced at Lum, who merely huffed.

In turn, Arbiter shrugged, "We have no issues with such a request. Lum here is Ghlariknee's old friend. He is grateful you kept that Mist Creature from taking him."

"I should be thanking him, for saving our hides." Chief said with a nod in Lum's direction.

The Hunter trilled.

Chief gave another nod before traveling the short distance to the tube, the large Renegade suspended eerily in the pink liquid, all sorts of tubes sticking out of his body. You could see the small chunks that the Flood forms had tried to eat and burrow their way in.

"Cortana, you think you can-"

-::Take a quick peek? Would be delighted to::- Cortana responded with a smile, appearing in holo form as he pulled out her chip and hovered it before the tubing.

"We've managed to take out all the hell spawn flood that tried to infect Lum's brother, but he still refuses to recover." Arbiter offered, as he watched with interest as the tiny AI pressed her palms against the glass.

-::Scanning::- Cortana said aloud, eyes briefly closing as she went over the thousands of bits of data streaming in within a matter of seconds.

Chief turned his head slightly when he noticed the big Hunter looming worriedly over his shoulder.

There was a tense moment of silence.

-::Ah, I think I can be of assistance::- Cortana spoke lightheartedly, opening her eyes to spin and face the three pairs of eyes, hands twining pleased behind the small of her back. She smiled first at John before sweeping her gaze to the cobalt-clad Sanghelli, -::I have been working on a prototype, messing around with millions of equations since we first discovered the Flood on Halo. I have eliminated hundreds of billions of possibilities, but have narrowed it down now to a few dozen or so. With the equipment I've scanned on board, there is one formula we may be able to replicate. No, Arbiter, Chief did not know I did that, and no, glaring at him will only make him shrug. Like he just did there::-

"So what are you saying, AI?" The Arbiter trailed slowly, hoping against hope, after exchanging confused glances with the Demon.

-::What the Flood do is attack an organism, take over its basic motor functions, target each cell and atom until it converts the prey's very tissue and flesh into its own ravenous form. You did a very good job at scraping out the bugs. The eggs. Almost everything. But the infection had already set into the Hunter's flesh. He's not healing, because he's converting as we speak::-

Lum gave a distressed roar, shoving the Demon and the AI out of the way to pound at the tube, nearly cracking the surface.

"Cortana, wrap it up." Master Chief warned, after Arbiter rushed forward to catch him, stopping them both from crashing head long into an empty tube.

He tried to ignore the heat of the Elite's touch, as he waited for Cortana to finish.

Cortana held her hands placatingly towards the Hunter, looking deep into his mourning eyes as she said, -::Look, what I'm trying to say is I may have developed a prototype to cure what is mutating his flesh. To target the Flood infection at its most basic form. Down to the grain of a molecule. It is just a prototype. And we'll have to make adjustments to a few things. But what I'm saying, is we may have a chance to save your friend. But it's risky::-

Lum looked with a quizzical gaze at the Arbiter still crouched over the Chief, still holding him from when they had both fallen. The Hunter made a troubled rumble from his throat, quills rattling in agitation. Cortana, still shimmering in the upturned palm of the Spartan's hand, glanced back at the two warriors before turning back to Lum. Attention full on him as his was on her.

-::It'll accelerate the conversion process, but will draw out the infection and kill it... should the formula work. It's a 50-50 shot basically. Either he converts, or we save him. I... didn't want to keep that from you::- She gave the big Hunter a moment to let that sink in, before offering, -::Since this is your brother we're talking about, it is your choice::-

Lum gave a hollow moan, trumping over a step or two to his dormant brother, large hand raking delicately against the glass. With one long look, he finally turned to nod in Cortana's direction.

-::All right::- Cortana cracked her knuckles, -::Let's get started. Chief?::-

The Spartan was glad for the excuse to quickly extract himself from the Sanghelli's hold, not wanting to move for fear of upsetting the mourning brother earlier.

He popped her chip into the port of the tube, the liquid inside immediately churning and bubbling as the AI set things in motion.

They all stood there a moment, watching.

But then Arbiter was there, large hand gently taking the Chief's elbow. At the glance from that gold visor, Thel rumbled, "It is... best if we leave them alone."

"Cortana?" Chief asked hesitantly.

-::Working Chief. You boys go play. Got enough to worry about with big deadly over there watching my every move::-

The Spartan nodded, reluctantly allowing the Arbiter to pull him out of the room. When they were out in the corridor, Chief noticed the grip still on his arm.

"Where we going?" John asked pointedly, not one for beating around the bush.

"We... need to discuss some matters." The Arbiter responded, smirking at the Chief's forwardness.

"Okay, let's talk. Why can't we do this in the hall?" Chief asked, and shrugging his captive elbow, "And why do you need to hold my hand for this?"

"The matters I wish to discuss are of a more private nature. And with your previous regard for flight, it is best I 'hold your hand' so to speak."

Feeling less and less at ease, Master Chief asked slowly, "Uh, what are you-"

Before anything else could happen, the Spartan found himself shoved into a room, the door sliding shut behind the Arbiter.

With a sinking feeling, he saw that they were not alone. Ghlariknee stood there, waiting.


End file.
